The 'akohekohe, the amazing crested honeycreeper by Ken _Gilliland
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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.
Description
On the slopes of northeastern portion of the Haleakala Volcano on the island of Maui lives the endangered 'akohekohe. 'akohekohe (pronounced "ah ko-hay ko-hay") in Hawaiian means "pubic hair" and probably refers to the tuft of fluff protruding from its' beak (there's probably some things you just didn't need to know, right? lol).
The ‘Akohekohe is very aggressive and will chase off Apapane and I’Iwi for possession of 'ohi'a blossoms. Nectar from the 'Ohi'a tree makes up 40-75% of these birds' diets. They also feed on the nectar of other plants, caterpillars, flies, spiders, and other invertebrates.
There are approximately 3,800 mature individuals left. After a big decline, the ‘Ahohekohe populations appear to have stabilized. At this point in time, the major threats appear to be the negative effects of introduced animals (especially feral pigs) and plants. Feral pigs wreak havoc on the soil and vegetation in native forests, destroying native understory and subcanopy plants and creating wallows that can act as breeding sites for disease-carrying mosquitoes. Rainforest areas that have been affected by pigs can recover if the pigs are removed, but these areas have higher concentrations of non-native plants. Although 'Akohekohes feed primarily in the canopy on 'ohi'a trees, they also feed on flowering understory shrubs. The destructive activities of pigs, together with the encroachment of non-native plants into formerly pristine forest, may cause 'Akohekohes to search for food at lower elevations, where infectious mosquitoes and avian diseases are common.
Rendered in DS4 without postwork. Model Credits: Tropical Cove (Nerd), Ohia branch and 'Akohekohe from Songbird ReMix Hawaii (Ken Gilliland)
Comments (19)
Beautiful!!!
Your scenes are absolutely fantastic...Also like the description of the birds your also include...
very natural/realistic bird, but all of them are
What a wonderful work,so beautifully detailed,excellent********
stupendous work
An exceptional bird & scene!
I still keep looking at this and can't believe it is not a photo! Even enlarged it looks like a photo. Interesting name in Hawaiian, LOL!!! Off to check out your gallery!
Beautiful scene and top notch render - Wow and wonderful (need more stars here!)
Another most excellent image well dne
Very beautiful bird and really great scene to show him off. Great work.
Very nice work:)
OUTSTANDING WORK!
~Really beautiful work!! Bravo!~
This is a beautiful render! Excellent.
Lovely image, nice work.
Wonderful and colorful!
You just keep on getting better and better my friend! LOVE the vegetation- So hard to find really detailed nature modeling like this!
wonderful bird/flower scene, very nice image
What a beautiful bird in such a gorgeous setting. Those pigs must be removed it sounds perfectly awful what they are doing. Thanks for informing us.