Cuckoo

20" x 20"/51 x51cm

Oil on panel

2019

This piece was inspired by walks along the California coast, where I saw lush growths of Pride Of Portugal. I looked them up and found that they are beautiful, but are also an invasive species. It got me thinking about all the other plants and animals we have introduced into non-native environments, and how we then struggle to deal with it. All the plants in the foreground are invasive, as are the starlings. Can you spot all the birds? I called it cuckoo because these birds lay their eggs in other birds' nests and leave the fledglings to take over the host nest, often killing all the offspring of the host bird.

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