Whooping Motmot
“For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.” – Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Poza Honda-Manabi Province-Ecuador – The handsome Whooping Motmot is often the early bird of each day, though instead of getting worms, it enjoys eating bananas at the breakfast bar! It – and the Brown Wood Rails – are usually the last birds to visit as dusk fades into night. One of the Motmots has lost its ‘tip feathers’ on its unique tail! Even with a short tail, it’s a lovely bird!
The Brown Wood Rails make almost-daily appearances in the yard; they’re pretty predictable when ripe bananas are available!
The Brown Wood Rails have competition for bananas… see below!
You coffee lovers out there – how’s this for ‘pick your own’ coffee? This particular ‘escaped’ coffee tree is growing beside my home!
Upcoming events in Z’s life:
Nomadas en Manabi – a group show at Museo Portoviejo – June 29, 2018 (Portoviejo/Manabi/Ecuador)
Birds, Butterflies and Botanicals – solo show at Museo Portoviejo – October 24, 2018 – date has not been confirmed.
Whooping Motmot – Acrylic
Two Cans – Acrylic – 24″ x 36″
That’s all for this week’s smoke signal!
Zeebra Designs & Destinations 
the color in those birds are unbelievable!!
Hi Donna, yes, thank you, and the color changes according to the light.. those red eyes are amazing!
Breathtaking!
Thank you, Hugh! Seeing that out the window is definitely an upgrade from what’s on television these days!!!
Amazing pictures!! Thanks for sharing such beauty with others.
Thank you for your sweet comment!
Love the Motmot’s facepaint! What an exquisite bird!
yes, it’s a lovely bird, and as long as there are ripe plantains on the feeder, one or more birds are there in early morning and late afternoon… thanks!
Oh, my, I love the Two Cans and the Whooping Motmot wins my favorite name contest. Heck, I’d prefer bananas to worms, too. Congratulations on the shows and it’s great to see you pop in. 😉
janet
It sort of lives up to its name, though it’s not a loud ‘eureka’ whoop, but a very low-pitched whoop whoop whoop’ that might scare someone on a dark night unless they knew it was a lovely small bird!
Your artwork (is it finished?) is really impressive as are the photos of assorted birdlife.
How do you stand it living amongst all that beauty and wildlife? The sounds alone would be enough combined melody to produce a daily symphony of delight!
Thank you; yes, when I find myself making minute corrections/additions to a work, I remind myself, ‘Always stop before you think you are finished.’
The sounds here are amazing.. I just ‘extracted’ some audios from videos last night – to share either today or else next week when that next post is written. Am using public wifi, and the battery is running down faster and faster!
Thanks, Eddie, and may your week smile on you!
Love the motmots , we have them here, though it seems they migrate, love the toucans, I did a Mola rendition which I gave to a dear friend as a gift , have to do another for me 🙂 OR will you be selling your paintings at the show? … woohoo, we’ll see you in PV on the 29th !! congrats 🙂
Yes, it’s time you do a new toucan for your own walls.. I was thinking of you this morning when I was putting in a contact lens and looked at your rainbow zebra painting that’s just to the right of the bathroom mirror. I thought, ‘I should photograph this and show Mary how much |I treasure her painting!’
Still no word on the exact date of the upcoming show…
Love to see your birds and paintings popping into the reader Lisa. Wish I was close enough to come to your shows. Seeing your paintings in your blog is great inspiration, but to see them in a show would be just fantastic
I wish you both were close enough to drop in for visits/ to inspire one another, etc… Thank you, lovely Amiga!
That would be so lovely to spend time with you. Or alternatively you could come and visit us over here…
Love those vivid birds – and your artwork. ‘Two Cans’ – heh, heh!!
Thank you, Anne! Finding names for paintings is challenging at times.. sometimes it’s easy, and other times I should probably lob it to the WP group and get feedback!
All is pretty quiet this weekend, but wow, last weekend was a strong challenge..
May your upcoming showings show well. Have you figured out how to capture the escaped coffee beans and turn them into a delightful beverage? Love the competition between the squirrel and the brown wood rail.
hahaha! once – long ago – i simmered the entire red-skinned bean and made it into a fresh marmalade.. it was tasty….
i’ve been reading your posts when offline at home and hope to get over there for a comment next trip to town… see you soon!
Bless you Lisa. I am dumbfounded at your ability to keep up with the blogosphere…and everything else you’re involved in…despite the challenges you endure with connectivity. You must be an organizational genius.
ha! i do what i can with each day and try not to feel guilty if all tasks aren’t finished… you seem to do a lot as well, amiga! loading pages and reading offline is helpful, though it makes it difficult to comment or reply a week later!
Obviously, you’re going to be busy for a while! I wish I were close enough to come to at least one of your shows, though of course both would be better. I have a couple of paintings from an artist whose work I enjoy online, and they remind me daily what a difference there is between online images and the real thing. Beyond that, I suspect the liveliness of the world around you transfers in interesting ways to your art.
oh yes, and the world around me inspires me in strange ways at times.. it’s nice to have the artistic license to do whatever comes to mind! speaking of, i’d better start putting a post together before the battery runs to zero!
You’re flying far from the Internet these days. We’re waiting to hear the latest.
si, hit and miss, though i read your posts offline at home! i’ve a spanish/english query for you.. the english word ‘legume’ and the spanish term, ‘legumbres’ … i think we’ve talked about minestrone and menestra…
Latin legūmen meant ‘bean plant’ and ‘bean.’The word developed into Spanish legumbre, with a broadening of meaning to include plants other than those in the pea/bean family.
Si, I am using wifi at a public park, and across from the park is the public covered stall space for the vendors who sell fruits, vegetables, fish and meats… the sign says, ‘legumbres’…. yet that covers peppers, tomatoes, corn – whatever…. perhaps here it’s stretched into ‘all things that grow from seeds!’
I think that about covers it.
Lisa, I’m happy for you. It seems life now is far more peaceful and there’s less daily stress, and you’re able to concentrate more on painting and enjoying birds. And showing your art – fantastic! These two samples are gorgeous, and very focused. Again, I’m really happy for you.
The earthquake displaced many people;
as they say about God closing doors and opening windows — I am extremely lucky (blessed) to have found this oasis! Thank you, dear Amiga! I read your last post offline and hope to get there to leave a comment.. if not (i\m using wifi in a local park|) then see you next week!
love the birds and your work, thanks for sharing