Daily Doodle #15: Tawny Frogmouth
The Elusive Not-An-Owl
While today’s subject may look like an owl, it’s actually a much closer relative to the Nightjar, and behaves more like a mix between a possum and a skunk. That’s right, I actually did some research on these weirdos. I can finally do more than ramble on about pointless things. Now I can ramble on about wildlife no one’s ever heard of!
If I remember correctly, these dudes live in Australia. While we’re on the subject, is it just me, or does Australia have an abundance of big-headed birds? Kookaburras, Frogmouths, Kingfishers… It’s probably just me. Anyway… While the Tawny Frogmouth hunts at night like owls, rather than swooping in to catch prey with its talons, the Frogmouth actually attacks with its beak. I would hate to see what happens if they overestimate their clearance. I guess you can figure it out if you see the bottom half of one sticking out of the ground. But I digress...
Like most wild birds, the Tawny Frogmouth has naturally colored and patterned plumage to help it blend in with its surroundings. Their natural defense against predators is to snap their eye shut, hold stock still, and try to blend in with the tree bark in the hopes that they won’t be seen (kind of like me all through high school). In the event that a potential predator doesn’t fall for this disappearing act, they will open their mouths wide in an effort to scare the danger away. In this way, they’re actually much like Bearded Dragons. If this tactic does not relieve the stranger danger and it seems to pose a genuine threat, the Tawny Frogmouth will release a foul odor to deter it’s attacker. This is why they are sometimes referred to as the “Skunks of the Sky.”
So there you have it, the Tawny Frogmouth, as researched and paraphrased by me. I hope to do more posts like this in the future since it’s fun to learn about wildlife. Animals do some pretty crazy stuff, so it’s a great way to supplement my drawing practice with actual knowledge. I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to sharing more soon.
Until next time!
14 June 2018
12:19 - ... ::shrugs:: ...
(~60-80 minutes?)
I love feedback, so if you have any questions, ideas, or requests, make sure to leave a comment below. And, if you need more fun stuff to shove into your eyeballs, hop over and check out my YouTube channel, Chimp Skipper, or my online portfolio.
#art #sketch #drawing #pencil #slothicorn #dailydoodles #dailysketches #animals #birds #australia #owl #owlette #feathers #funny #jokes #blog #creative #creativity
aaaaaah love your birdies :> they are so expressive <3 always seem to be having opinions of their own and going through lives emoting on everything they are feeling inside XD
very adorable <3
Lol, thank you so much. I had never even heard of this kind of bird, so when I saw the first reference image, they immediately went in the "must draw" list :)
Also, thank you so much for the resteem! You are awesome!!
i love curating great art!!! so, you are most welcomed for the resteem !! keep up the good work :D
can i also give you tips ? if you are open to feedback ?
i'd like to see you gain more success here at steemit, for your posts :D
Of course! I survived a graphic design and illustration degree, so I’m always open to constructive criticism and recommendations. Hit me with everything you’ve got.
well your artworks are great, but your posts can be made strongerer! like if possible you should let others get to know you so, here are a few tips that have worked for me (hope they can also boost your payouts!!!)
firstly, make things personal, because people love to get to know other people. People love talents, also, but at the end of the day, people love to connect with other people :>
Studies and interesting subjects can show off skills, but if you state what particularly attract you to something in terms of 'personal reasons', it usually makes the posts more accessible to others. For example, stories behind why you chose the tawny frogmouth can be more than just their cute shapes, maybe it's because it reminds you of a childhood storybook because they seem to be childlike or something like this. It makes the reasons more personal than just finding their proportions adorable :>
the rest of your posts are already becoming better and meatier ! continue with some step by step or video clips of your arting process, also! people love those !
i really enjoyed your timelapse drawing of the lion, and i was eager to curate that one for c-squared (im a curator there) but it needed more text. it needed more you. to be honest, i've been waiting since then for you to drop another post with step-by-step piccars or video clip, because i think you are talented and underappreciated.... so i wanna bring more love to your bloggy :D
hope that helps, a little? keep up the good work, @hglucky13!!! i love your stufffff !!!! <33333333
Thank you so much! I have not been spending as much time with me blog since having a baby, but you’ve confirmed that I may need to start putting a bit more time into writing my posts. For instance, I actually picked the frogmouths because they reminded me of my cute (albeit annoying) Furby’s from childhood. I wrote the post so fast that o totally forgot to put that in :(.
(Also, I have another time lapse coming coming down the pipeline. Ripley REALLY slows those down, though, so I can only work on them over the weekend.)
I really appreciate the advice and will do my best to start implementing the suggestions you gave. I mostly just need to slow down and give myself a bit more time to write the posts.
Thank you again.
wow! nice sketching and Amazingly cute looking
Thank you! I can’t take all the credit, though. They’re already pretty cute to begin with. :)
They have great facial expressions, lots of personality. Loved them all :)
I know, right? They look so completely cute and ridiculous! Thank you!
These look awesome. I also love sketching birds. For some reason I thought these were kookaburras at first glance, probably because of the head size. One day I’d want to travel to Australia to go bird watching. Can’t wait to see more from you!
Haha, I actually mentioned Australia having a lot of big headed birds in the post. Thank you so much!
Really nice sketchy feel to these @hglucky, lots of personality and character as well. Very nice! :)
Thanks so much! It's kind of a speed drawing thing to keep me sketching each day.
Super brilliant!
It's amazing the standard I see these days!
True artists with unreal talents and dicipline.
Nice one.
Thank you so much!
I love the drawings and character study - what a weird little bird!
Ikr? They reminded me of Furby’s... probably just gave away my age there. 😋
Thank you!
ooooh they are so cute... <3
I know! I couldn’t not draw them when I saw them in my google search. They remind me of Furbys 😋