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Recently I've been working on a series of gesture studies at Sylvan Heights Bird Park. It's a wonderful place for sketching not only because of its remarkable variety of species, but because visitors can get close enough to notice details that are easy to miss in photographs.

My latest close encounter was with a bird I’d never heard of before, the Abyssinian Ground Hornbill. My first impression was simply its size. Unlike the small hornbills I was familiar with, this species stands nearly a meter tall and spends much of its time on the ground. It is a carnivore adapted to hunting small prey on the open savanna. I can easily imagine what a terror it must be to the insects, small lizards and rodents that share its habitat!

Gesture drawing

As the bird stepped into the sunlight, I was struck by its coloration: black plumage with iridescent blue highlights, contrasting with vivid patches of cobalt blue skin. Males add even more drama with reddish and peach-colored accents on the face and throat.

At close range I could appreciate the textural differences of bill, casque and skin areas, but was most surprised by its lush long eyelashes. I had seen images of ostriches and secretary birds with eyelashes, but something about the hornbill’s contrast between heavy body, strong scaled legs and lethal looking beak combined with unexpectedly glamorous eyelashes was delightfully incongruous.

Gesture drawing

Later research revealed that the "eyelashes" aren't hairs at all, but specialized feather bristles. They likely protect the eyes from the thorny vegetation of African savanna and may help reduce glare from the intense sun.

I decided to make the eyelashes the focus of my painting, choosing a frontal view rather than the more familiar profile that emphasizes the bird's massive bill and distinctive casque. The face-to-face view also reinforces the intense, binocular gaze of a predator.

Final sketch on watercolor paper

I’m preparing for a dinosaur-themed event in late August at the Museum of Life and Science and will definitely be taking my new hornbill painting. Modern birds have become some of our best references for reconstructing dinosaur appearance; cassowaries in particular have been so influential that their bold coloration has almost become a paleoart trope. The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill offers a fresh perspective, and it leads me to a “next question”: if modern birds can surprise us with details like extravagant feather "eyelashes," what other unexpected features might some avian theropods have displayed?

Final painting