day three-hundred-and-thirty-three - northern cassowary

yet another bright bird portrait, but don't cassoWORRY about it.

© jem barratt

he looks a lot better than i thought he did seven days ago

cassowaries, like fine wines, must ripen with age. not that wine ripens. probably should have compared it to a banana or something...

oh well. that terrible analogy is a lot more representative of my long shitty week than a banana ever could be

xj

p.s. how nice is that blue?! it was so dark on the paper.

day three-hundred-and-twenty-three - sulawesi wrinkled hornbill

eww wrinkles

© jem barratt

right?

i don't know. personally i'm more drawn (pun definitely intended) to his colours than his wrinkles. more and betterer colours than i even depicted here.

ok, so the colours are the same. at least that photo highlights how weird hornbills are really.

and these ones are fancy too, feeding on fruit and figs (hang on ... why are figs listed separate from 'fruit' - some kind of conspriacy no doubt).

this is also a fine example of my apparent knack to miss an animal's coolest/most hilarious/most memorable common name. yes he is a sulawesi wrinkled hornbill.

but he is also a knobbed hornbill. DRAT!

xj

day three-hundred-and-nineteen - pink katydid

oh no she katydidn't

© jem barratt

yep. i sure did.

xj

day three-hundred-and-eleven - little bittern

this little guy bitterned more than he could chew

© jem barratt

because it's hard to chew with beaks

xj

day two-hundred-and-ninety-five - arctic tern

i really can't explain this...

© jem barratt

and i can't explain why i'm not embarrassed, and instead find myself rather pleased and wishing this were the name of a movie.

also the saying is "turn for the worse" but... i've already drawn it. pph, i don't have to say things goodly - i'm pursuing science now not linguistics (although there's a good chance that will be my next degree and i'll never actually make a career for myself)

my only explanation is that i drew this yesterday - the day i found out i only have a job for nine more days and also the day i had splints made for my stupid bent fingers. so comic relief is what i'm saying i guess?

but who am i to complain? boned fingers are nothing compared to what these terns endure each year. their breeding is circumpolar, meaning they breed around the arctic region, meaning that they have to fly there from wherever they live (north america, europe or asia), MEANING they fly almost 80,000 km a year. jiminy cricket!

no more complaining from me!

xj

p.s. although if i could fly i wouldn't see it as a chore - i'd say i GET to fly 80,000 km a year. birds are so lucky.

p.p.s. i lied about the complaining

day two-hundred-and-seventy-three - bearded seal

hey it's technically the next day. unless you live somewhere weird, like not south australia...

© jem barratt

meh, i like the angles

but where IS his (/her) beard?

xj

day two-hundred-and-seventy - harpy eagle

ah the harpy eagle. so noble. so grand. so ferocious.

yes?

© jem barratt

and so harpy to meet you.

next year's challenge will be 'drawing 365 things when too tired to draw'. catchy hey?

oh yeah, young harpy eagles do actually look this ridiculous. see? i sure am asking you a lot of questions tonight. (aren't i?)

i don't have much else to say. it's a stupidly bad drawing of a stupidly hilarious bird. if i'd drawn the mature harpy it would have been far too classy, what with their leg stripes and sleekness. they also have a mighty fine scientific name - harpia harpyja - which i am going to count as one of those double scientific names i so dearly love... at least phonetically

hmmm
xj

day two-hundred-and-twelve - guppy (love)

you probably deserve more but i am rather intoxicated (on life) so...

© jem barratt

also guppy's a cool word so you have nothing to complain about. plus a pun.

whingers...
xj