Drawing, plastic pencil on Mylar, of the Atlas Beetle, Chalcosoma atlas.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a sculpture of the Zebra Finch, Taeniopygiia guttata. This is a breeding pair. The sculpture was done in clay, then cast in polyurethane and painted.

Copyright American Museum of Natural History 2011.

This is a sculpture of the Great Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus. Depicted here is a behavior common in icterids, called ‘anting’. The bird has seized a single ant of genus Azteca. The ant releases formic acid as a chemical defense. The bird applies the acid to its feathers, inducing feather lice to drop off. Icterids really twist around to get all the hard to reach spots, and even fall over while doing this.

This sculpture is copyright American Museum of Natural History, 2013.