'Spike', the Silvereye - original artwork

This artwork has been hand painted with professional-grade watercolour paint and detailed with a traditional nib and highly concentrated ink on 300gsm 100% cotton watercolour paper. See more details below. 

About this bird:
Silvereyes are widespread in many parts of Australia, predominantly the south-east, with different populations throughout their range. You might not see many when the weather gets chilly in autumn as Silvereyes form large flocks and fly to warmer areas for the winter. However, it’s only the Tasmanian race that performs the incredible migration across Bass Strait and up the east coast of Australia, over 1600km. In the 1830s they turned up in New Zealand, apparently after being blown off course when crossing from Tasmania! Very little is known about how Silvereyes manage to complete their epic migration every year or, how they know where to go, what makes them want to go and how they fuel the trip. The Silvereye is an adaptable bird capable of spreading to new habitats with ease. They live in a range of vegetation including eucalypt forests and woodlands and mangroves. Flowering trees are a magnet for Silvereyes, so look out for them in gardens, parks and even orchards when trees and shrubs are flowering. However, they don’t just eat nectar and fruit – they also love insects, so they are great to have in your garden. In fact, Silvereyes will help to keep a lot of the insects that damage plants under control. Mated pairs will build a small, neat nest by weaving fine grass and hair, and bind it together with spider webs, actively defending their small territory. It might only grow to about 15cm tall and weigh only 5-10g but its tenacity and enthusiasm for life is inspiring. Conservation Status: Secure.

Price is for mounted artwork only. Any framed image examples are for illustrative purposes only.