Painted: 5/30/2015
Sponsored by: Leo Yu
About the Bird: A small, feisty flyer, the Allen鈥檚 Hummingbird nests mostly in California, where it鈥檚 adapted fairly well to suburban parks and gardens. If global temperatures rise to 3 degrees Celsius, however, the hummingbird could lose 64 percent of its summer range and 94 percent of its winter range, much of it in Mexico. Threats such as fire weather, which incinerate habitat; spring heat waves, which endanger nestlings; and urbanization could also threaten its survival.
About the Artist: Socky, born Joshua Goody Garcia, is a Brooklyn native and artist inspired by dreams of American Folk Art, Jesus, and Elvis. A silk screen printer by profession, Socky explores his art through drawing, acrylic painting, and wood carving. He was drawn to the Allen Hummingbird鈥檚 aerial acrobatics. 鈥淭he courtship flight of the male Allen鈥檚 Hummingbird is a frantic back-and-forth flight arc of about 25 feet, similar to the motion of a swinging pendulum,鈥 he says, 鈥渇ollowed by a high-speed dive from about 100 feet.鈥
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