© Ellen Granter 2005 ....Science Art-Birds

Title: Birdline #20
Species: Blue-capped Cordonbleu (Uraeginthus cyanocephalus)
Artist: Ellen Welch Granter (for further information, click on the artist's name)
Image size:24" x 24"
Media: oil on canvas
Date: 2005
Collection of the artist

The Blue-capped Cordonbleu has a large range that extends from Sudan, Ethiopia, and Somalia, to Kenya and Tanzania. This popular cagebird is thought to have a large population, although it has not been quantified.

The artist notes, "I paint these small finches in their large open color fields, even though they are found in my neighborhood only in small cages. Their glorious color brightens up my paint palette wonderfully!" The canvas and the cagebird brighten up the world of their owners, too, and although some people consider the caging of wildbirds inhumane, pets can serve as valuable links between people and the conservation of wildbird populations."

Some may wonder if cage birds put their owners at risk to bird flu. Researchers suggest that if the birds are kept indoors, they are probably safe: In the U.S. it is illegal to import pet birds from regions that are infected with avian flu.