Asian Fairy Bluebird Kids T-Shirt

The Asian Fairy Bluebird, Irena puella, is found through much of southern Asia, including Indonesia and the islands of Borneo, Sumatra and the Andamans. I saw it in the wild in Borneo, where they have elongated upper tail coverts, unlike those found further west, including tropical India. The females and immature birds are all over a sort of bluish-green colour, but the adult male, such as the one I have shown in my painting, are brilliant, metallic blue above, and velvety black below. The glistening blue derives from the specialized microstructure of the blue feathers, which have a vaguely enamel-like feel to them. Brilliant in sunlight, in forest shade the blue and black combination can provide excellent camouflage. This is one of my favourite “pandemic paintings”, done during the Covid-19 pandemic lock-down, not because if it my “best”, but because in its simplicity it does what I achingly wanted to do when I was a child, struggling for competence in the practice of pai...