Great frigatebird (2020)

Great frigatebird, 2020, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 cm

The male great frigatebird has a throat pouch that can take up to 20 minutes to fully inflate to the size of a human head. The throat pouch plays a large role in the mating ritual. Even though the frigatebird is a sea bird, it rarely lands on the ocean, because its plumage isn’t waterproof and when wet, it ways the bird down and disables it to fly again until its feathers have dried in the sun.