Carolina Parakeets by Ken _Gilliland
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Description
Between projects, I've decided to do a couple renders for fun... some seasonal, some of my birds that I haven't worked with for a while... the Carolina Parakeet is one of them.
This Parakeet was one of two endemic parrots found in the US; the other, the critically endangered Thick-billed Parrot.
In 1850, Carolina Parakeets were found from Eastern Nebraska and Southeastern Wisconsin and all the way to the East Coast, from New York to Florida. Before widespread agriculture took hold in the area, it lived on seeds from grasses and trees. As the areas became developed the parakeet developed tastes for apples, oranges, grapes, dogwood flowers and mulberries. Unfortunately for the bird, most of these tasty treats were found in farms and gardens. Being a member of the parrot family, this parakeet was highly gregarious and traveled commonly in flocks of 30 individuals. Farmers and gardeners began to shoot the parakeets as crops pests. Hunters began to shoot them for "sport" and their feathers. Parakeets being very social birds, would flock around shot and injured members to help them, making them easy targets and adding to the carnage.
By 1900, the Carolina Parakeet was extinct in the wild. A breeding program at the Cincinnati Zoo, kept the parakeet from complete extinction until 1914 when the last individual died.
Rendered in Poser 2014 without postwork. Models used: Trees (DinoRaul/Rendo), Grain (rDNA), Barbed Wire Fence from "Perching Places", Skydome from "Pixel Downs", Branch from "SBRM Toucans2" and Carolina Parakeet from "SBRM Threaten, Endangered, Extinct 1" (Me/Hivewire3D)
Comments (13)
ronmolina
Very nice!
netherman
A beautifully composes scene and interesting information. Thanks for sharing!
MNArtist
Beautiful work. Really like the softness of this image
linwhite
It's so sad how humans wipe out whole species because they interfere in some way with their agenda. Thank you for sharing this. I actually had no idea that we even had a native parrot in North America. So tragic that it's gone forever.
Ken _Gilliland
You can still see the Thick-billed parrot, once found in the high elevation pine forests of southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. It is now only found in highland forests, pine forests and foothills of northern and central Mexico. You can see them easily at the San Diego Safari Park (aka Wild Animal Park) as well as their highly recommended California Condor habitat. The San Diego Zoological Society which runs the Safari Park and Zoo is one of the world leaders in endangered species preservation, propagation and re-introduction.
BE
Wow, I had no idea we had native parakeets either. Thank you.
Ken _Gilliland
You can find out more about the Carolina Parakeet by getting "The Carolina Parakeet" book by award winning author, Carole Boston Weatherford, which just happens to have a Songbird ReMix Carolina Parakeet illustration in it. LOL
Kerya
They look lovely - and I can hear them "talking" to each other, the poses in that group are perfect! :)
Kinchie
Such a horrific and wasteful tragedy to have lost these treasures - Such beauties as depicted here, and perfect posing.
Flint_Hawk
Your render is fantastic, but the information is so sad!
flavia49
fantastic models and render
Cyve
Marvelous creation... Fantastically well done !
adorety
Very cool. They look like a nice flock. Interesting and sad bit of info too.
Rhanagaz
Sad story to your beautiful image of them. Everytime this happens we all die a little more a species...
GrandmaT
Beautiful render!