Calliope Hummingbird​ by Kristy McCarthy

Painted: May 29, 2016

Sponsored By: Laurel Przybylski

About the Bird: The smallest bird in North America, measuring about 3 inches long and weighing about one-tenth of an ounce, the Calliope Hummingbird is able to survive cold summer nights at high elevations in the northern Rockies. Some migrate every year from Canada all the way to southern Mexico. Only a third of its current breeding range is expected to remain stable with 3 degrees Celsius of warming; conversely only about a third would be lost if warming is kept to 1.5 degrees.

About the Artist: A self-taught painter, teaching artist, hair braider, and cultural organizer based in New York City, Kristy McCarthy paints under the moniker “D.Gale.” She utilizes art as a powerful tool to build community, raise awareness about social and environmental justice issues, and question the ways we interact with our environments. Kristy co-founded the Harlem Art Collective, which organizes and executes community art projects in her neighborhood of East Harlem, as well as Fiesta de Colores, an urban art festival that takes place annually in Manabí, Ecuador. She is also passionate about working with youth. Hummingbirds have always fascinated her, she says: “They're the smallest birds on the planet, yet some of the most fearless; they can hover and fly backwards and have the very important job of pollinating. They symbolize resilience, adaptability, joy, and playfulness, and their wings, rather than flap up and down, move in the pattern of the infinity symbol. With the Audubon report focusing on population decrease due to the loss of nesting habitat, I chose to do a mural depicting the mating rituals. This mural is the love story of two that became one and then there were three.”

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