CLEARED TO LAND

The finished painting features a single African white-backed vulture on an approach to land and in turn join others at a carcass. It was the various shapes of the bird, feather textures and the use of light and shade that interested me in the subject of a large raptor against a scorching African sky that gave the composition its strength.

ABOUT THE SPECIES

The African White-backed Vulture (Gyps africanus) is an old world vulture within the family Accipitridae which includes eagles, kites, buzzards and hawks. It is closely related to the European griffin vulture (Gyps fulves). Found in the northern areas of Africa and inhabiting the African plains, savannahs and occasionally desert regions. Like other vultures it's a scavenger, feeding mostly on carcasses of animal which it discovers by soaring over the savannah. Basically any dead animal wild or domestic is consumed. Although it might be the most numerous of the African vulture species it is however classified by the IUCN as Critically Endangered.