drawing
a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 28
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Island Life by Grace Jones as a firm favourite in our eighties household. It was a compilation album of her best songs from the first 9 years of her musical career and for me it was an introduction to the goddess that is Grace Jones. I remember the Australian LP was a double album with a bonus 12″ containing amazing tracks like My Jamaican Guy, Pull up to the Bumper and Warm Leatherette. The cover image was created by Grace’s then partner Jean-Paul Goude and was cut and pasted together from different images. This is so well done considering this was pre-photoshop. In 1986 a 12 year old Cecilia was fascinated with a photo of Grace with her brother in a French apartment… they are both naked, facing each other, wearing berets and holding glasses of red wine. So cookie and so Grace Jones ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 27
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
The Rolling Stones are such an iconic band in so many ways. Their impact on artwork, music, film clips, dance moves and ageing has been epic. This album cover is not that well known… it’s from the Spanish release of the 7″ EP Called The Rolling Stones that was released in 1965. It contained the tracks Satisfaction, Off The Hook, Little Red Rooster and The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man (weird title). The graphic quality of these multicoloured monotone portraits is gorgeous… I’m wondering what else I can apply this technique to… simple and gorgeous ♥ The artwork is attributed to someone called Botia but I can’t find out anything about them.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 26
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Graceland was the 7th solo album for Paul Simon, a great Amercian musician who was originally the Simon half of Simon & Garfunkle (a band I love for their use of the name Cecilia in popular music). Graceland was released in 1986 and was a commercial success. He had had some personal and commercial troubles including a marriage breakdown and during a period of depression, he became obsessed with a bootleg cassette of South African township music. He visited Johannesburg and recorded with a bunch of African musicians. This album was a huge hit when I was a kid and with songs like Graceland, Diamonds on the soles of her shoes and You can call me Al is it any wonder it is now a classic ♥ It won the 1987 Grammy Award for Album of the Year and often appears in best album lists.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 25
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I had forgotten that comedy albums are a thing. I remember friends obsessively listening to comedy albums, copying them onto tape and listening to them in the car while we drove our teenage selves around looking for adventure. Monty Python was a massive hit. Life of Brian was the second soundtrack album and was released in 1979 and came out at the same time as the film. It was very controversial at the time – as are most popular comedy acts – and was banned in Ireland. At the time a priest said, “Anybody who buys the record and finds it funny must have something wrong with their mentality”. Judging by this, I must be a wrongen because I find it hilarious ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 24
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I loved Prince Rogers Nelson from the moment I first heard his music. He was elegant, eclectic, strange, highly sexual, ambiguous, ahead of his time and incredibly extravagant. He wore makeup, occasionally sang in a falsetto voice and challenged what it means to be a man in modern America and the world. I was lucky to see him live in concert a couple of times and they rank as some of the best concerts of my life. Such a stupidly talented man… he was too sensitive and creative to survive in this world. Go and play some Prince… he is food for your ears, mind and your soul. I also loved his visual aesthetic and his album covers really evoked the music contained within the crystal case ♥ Parade was his 8th studio album… it contained the hit Kiss and was the soundtrack to the movie Under the Cherry Moon that was directed by and starred Prince.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 23
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Monk is an iconic jazz album released by jazz pianist and composer Thelonious Monk in 1956. Monk had a unique and loose improvisational style. He is responsible for creating some instantly recognisable jazz standards like Blue Monk, Straight, No Chaser and Ruby, My Dear. The album artwork was designed by the incredibly prolific and innovative Andy Warhol. He was a freelance designer at the Prestige jazz label where he designed this cover. Warhol did the typography but like any hard working mummy’s boy, his mum did the calligraphy. It’s so simple and stylish and would not be out of place today ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 22
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I love this album cover… Los Mono is a Chilean super-group, a collaboration between some of the top musicians and produces from the country. With heavy hip-hop influences and a great alternative sound, they have crossed over into the mainstream. Everything about them is just left of centre with their amazing film clips, unique sound, quirky artwork, fascination with robots and trademark positivity. Their music is super upbeat and even if you don’t understand Spanish, their sound is superinfections ♥ Their album Somos los que Estamos came out in 2007 and has one of my favourite tracks on it, Promesas… I have repeat-offended this track on many an occasion. The film clip is strangely hypnotic with a dude in an orange jumpsuit dancing down an impossibly long hallway with a poorly dubbed robot head hiding his identity. I dare you to watch and not get hooked.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 21
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
To my delight The Breakfast Club by The Breakfast Club was released in 1987 ♥ Thirteen year old Cecilia thought this album was the coolest ever. The band formed in New York in 1979 and went through many members. At one point a very young Madonna was their drummer… this was my introduction Madonna and I instantly fell in love with her style and killer dance moves. The band eventually let her sing a few songs and she almost instantly grew outgrew the band and went in to become Madonna the juggernaut. My favourite track by The Breakfast Club has always been Right Track and it was track 2 on this album. To this day when that song comes on I can’t help but spin around and sing along just like Madonna would have but she did it in a cute little hat with cropped platinum hair… her version will always be infinantly cuter than mine. The album artwork for The Breakfast Club was in line with the bands 50’s asthtetic. I don’t really see what this image has to do with any of the songs but it was the 80’s!
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 20
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I fell in love with Pnau back in 2003 when I was working at Warner Music. I was so stoked when I was given a Pnau t-shirt… I wore it until it frayed. This awesome Australian dance music group got together in Sydney in 1999. This album artwork is from their third album, Pnau which was chock full of hits including Wild Strawberries, Baby and Embrace. Their album artwork is always different, exciting and colourful… right up my alley. Elton John heard the Pnau album and immediately signed them. Their work has only gotten better with time and their latest album Changa was a delight with anthems like Chameleon and Go Bang featuring on high rotation on my playlists ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 19
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
This is very new music… I only recently discovered these cool cats. Patawawa is a very cool NuDisco act out of Derbyshire in the UK. Their smooth funky soul disco tunes are hypnotic, super chill and incredibly infectious. Their album artwork is super cool and minimalistic… it fits their musical aesthetic nicely. Clean lines and clean sounds. Plug your headphones in and shimmy your lounge room ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 18
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I adore Dappled Cities. They are hard to define or fit into one category… they are classified as an indie rock band but they are strangely weird and familiar all at once. They’re a Sydney based band forming in Sydney’s northern suburbs in 1997. When they were still too young to play proper gigs, they played all-ages and charity gigs. If you want to chill out and melt into your couch then listen to ||||| (pronounced FIVE) and play Stone Men on repeat. They have very cool painterly album artwork as well. If you don’t already know them, check them out and enjoy their serene seventies vibe ♥ and rock out to #AusMusicMonth – support Australian artists. 
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 17
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
This old dog, released in 2017, is the third full-length album by singer and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist extraordinaire Mac DeMarco. I did not know of DeMarco until this album and it was the album artwork that first got my attention. I loved the illustrative quality of it and then decided to listen to it. It is one of the few recent albums that I listen to in its entirety. I’m so playlist focused that I rarely listen to albums any more but this is an exception. The track On the Level is a particular favourite of mine… it’s so trippy and relaxing… I have repeat offended this track on many an occasion ♥ I chose this because I adore the album and the artwork but then I thought it would be an easy and quick draw… I was wrong. This was a hand-cramping task with all those lines 😛
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 16
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I saw this cute little indie pop band perform on Conan one night and fell in love with their sound. Superorganism formed in 2017 and are based in London. They released their debut self-titled album earlier this year. They’re super cute and I love their sound, their look and their super adorbs single artwork ♥ Check them out. Warning though, this song will get stuck in your ear 😛
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 15
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Screamadelica released in 1991 was the third album by Primal Scream, a Glaswegian rock band that formed in 1991. This album was the first commercial success for the band reaching number 8 in the UK charts and rocking through my teenage brain. Often referred to as one of the best albums from the 1990’s it is an iconic reminder of my youth. The album cover was painted by Paul Cannell and in-house designer from Creation records. He was inspired by a water stain in the ceiling of the record labels office while under the influence of LSD – each to their own. I have fond memories of listening to their track Loaded through the foam covered headphones of my Sony Discman ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 14
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
This has to be one of my all-time favourite albums. I discovered it late in my high school career and listened to it all the way through uni. Bill Withers was an American songwriter and musician who only recorded for 15 years from 1970. Despite his limited recording career he created an amazing array of hits like Lean on Me, Ain’t No Sunshine, Lovely Day, Grandma’s Hands and the ultimate classic Just the Two of Us. This album lifts my mood and I adore the incredibly 80’s album cover ♥ Each song reminds me of a wonderful time in my youth.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 13
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
I love Nina Simone. I discovered her in high school and listened to her on high rotation. I knew every song, beat, lyric and instrumental on her best of album. Such an amazing musical icon… you can really feel her emotions when she performs. Sadly I never got to see her live. Nina lived from 1933 to 20o3, she was an American singer, songwriter, pianist and activist in the Civil Rights Movement. She sang jazz, classical, blues, folk, R&B, gospel and pop. With hits like My Baby Just Cares for Me, Feeling Good, I Put A Spell on You and Sinnerman, Simone is an icon of creativity and humanity ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 12
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Bruce Springsteen released Born in the USA in 1984 (I was 10 years old), this was his 7th album. Recorded with the E Street Band and the music was written by Bruce himself. The album was critically and commercially successful and produced 7 top 10 hit singles. When this album came out I became acutely aware that women liked looking at men’s butts. I had never looked at the butt as anything other than a mobile cushion for sitting. I didn’t really get it, but I accepted that this was a thing… women and girls went crazy at the site of Bruce’s arse in blue jeans. Glory Days, Dancing in the Dark and Born in the USA are so ingrained in my brain… while I’m not going to follow Bruce around the world, I am going to air drum and sing along to his hits ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 11
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
The album Rio by Duran Duran was released in 1982… I was all of 8 years old. I remember this album well. It was the second studio album by the Brit new wave synthpop group and it reached number 1 in the album charts in Australia ♥ Boys with blonde tips and open shirts filled my young girl dreams… such moody broody spunks. Even though Rio was the title track, I clearly remember every lyric in Hungry Like the Wolf as if I were 8 years old dancing in front of the big box colour TV in the kitchen while Countdown played all of the best tunes of the day. While I’m happy that women are not so openly objectified as they were in Duran Duran’s day… at the time I thought their film clips were spectacular.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 10
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Pink Floyd released The Wall, their 11th studio album in 1979. The album was conceived as a rock opera during Pink Floyd’s 1977 In The Flesh Tour. It’s one of the most minimal album covers of all time… a white wall. The album actually had no writing on it and the text was placed as a sticker, printed on a clear album sleeve or printed directly onto the album cover ♥ The text was written by Gerald Scarfe, a cartoonist. When it was released, the album received mixed reviews but it was a huge commercial success. Successful singles Comfortably Numb and Another Brick in the Wall came out of this album and they are still classics today. Rolling Stone magazine placed The Wall at 87 on the list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 9
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
With digital music being the norm, we often forget that singles used to be a thing. Not only did recordings artist have to worry about finding the right album artwork to represent their album, but they also had to secure artwork for their singles. I used to buy vinyl singles, then came cassettes and eventually the CD single. This is the artwork for Lady Gaga’s single Applause from her 2013 album Artpop (her third album). While touring, Gaga was inspired by the adoration and applause from her fans… she lived for the applause and ended up writing about it. As usual with Gaga, the song + film clip + single artwork are stunning ♥ I love the watercolour quality of her makeup. Just beautiful.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 8
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Help! is the Beatles 5th studio album released in 1965 and was the soundtrack from their movie also titled Help! With hit songs like Help!, Ticket to Ride and Yesterday it was a juggernaut of an album. The album cover was shot by photographer Robert Freeman and the band members were meant to spell out the word HELP in flag semaphore. They went with what looked best they wound up spelling out NUJV. Why not go with what looks best… at the end of the day spelling is for chumps. In 2012 Rolling stone magazine voted the album 331st of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time… I thought it would have a higher ranking than that. It is an absolute classic ♥
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 7
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Gotye – AKA Wally De Backer – released Making Mirrors, his 3rd studio album in 2011. While Gotye’s first two albums reached Australian audiences, particularly the Triple J set, this album when gangbusters all over the world. In particular, the song Somebody That I Used to Know… a giant international hit. It topped the charts in many countries and won a 2013 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. The album artwork was a painting by Frank De Backer, Wally’s father and went on to inform the film clip with the geometric shapes painted on Wally and Kimbra’s naked bodies. This amazing body painting film clip inspired a lot of parodies and the song went on to be covered by many on social media. There was a point where you would hear that song wherever you went ♥ Wally recorded this album at his parent’s farm in the Mornington Peninsula.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 6
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols was released in 1977. This album was not only ahead of its time musically but the album artwork was so modern and minimalist it would be just as relevant today. The Sex Pistols were very controversial having sworn on live TV, had been banned from performing live in most of England and the use of the word Bollocks in the album name created quite a bit of controversy. It is listed as a major influence by many musicians… this album was a game changer in the history of modern music. When you look up the tracklisting of this album it’s broken up into Side A and Side B… I loved having to turn the album over… something we don’t do any more. Johnny Rotten screaming God Save the Queen sums up punk rock for me and I always remember that scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Spike drives away in a blacked out old car singing along with Johnny ♥ This album debuted at number one on UK Album Charts and spent 60 weeks in the top 25.
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 5
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Released in 2004, American Idiot was the 7th studio album for Green Day, an American punk rock band. The album follows the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a lower-middle-class American adolescent anti-hero. It was written out of disillusionment and dissent of the state of America and its descent into war (Iraq). After a string of success, their 6th album performed poorly and they took their time on the 7th. It was a comeback for Green Day charting in 27 countries, reaching number 1 in 19 and selling 16 million copies worldwide. I always loved the graphic bleeding heart-shaped hand grenade ♥ on the CD cover… symbolic of the brokenhearted American youth of the early 2000’s (and some would argue it’s just as relevant today).
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 4
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Licensed to Ill was the debut studio album for the Beastie Boys. Released in 1986 by Def Jam and Columbia Records it was the first rap LP to top the Billboard charts, selling over 10 million copies in the United States alone. The band formed in 1981 in New York City and they are still the biggest selling rap group since Billboard begun recording sales in 1991. They are one of the longest surviving hip-hop acts in the world ♥ but it sadly came to an end in 2014 when a band member died from cancer and the band confirmed they would not continue. The big break out hit from this album had to be Fight for Your Right… better known as You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party! This was and still is a huge party anthem that never fails to get you off your feet and screaming along to every word… love it!
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 3
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Damon Days was the truly awesome second studio album for the English band Gorillaz. The Gorillaz are a virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998, consisting of 4 animated members 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs. Their virtual world is examined through music videos, interviews and short cartoons. In the real world, Albarn is the only permanent musician and he has collaborated with different musicians over the years. I seriously love this album… every song and every piece of accompanying artwork is pure brilliance! Almost all of the artwork associated with the Gorillaz was designed by co-creator Jame Hewlett under the gise of his design company Zombie Flesh Eaters ♥ Now I need to go and play this album for the thousandth time 😛
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 2
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
Destroy Rock & Roll released in 2004 was the first album released by Mylo, a Scottish record producer and DJ. It was re-released in 2005 with the awesome earwig remix of Drop the Pressure called Doctor Pressure. I remember dancing way waaay too hard at some music festival in Centennial Park when Doctor Pressure came on. So many good memories of that time and this music takes me right back there ♥ I loved this album cover too… so simple and graphic… divine… plus it’s pink!
Join me for the musical ride 😛
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a drawing a day ::: november 2018 ::: day 1
#adrawingaday #AlbumArt
This month I am drawing album covers that have inspired me musically or artistically. I love music and I love art so this is kind of the perfect combo. I’m having fun thinking of all of the album covers I’ve loved over the years.
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the 1967 debut album of the US band the Velvet Underground. It was part of Andy Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable Tour that was very experimental and contained controversial lyrics. The banana design on the cover is an Andy Warhol print and the early album invited people to “Peel slowly and see”… once peeled back the banana revealed a flesh- coloured banana. These original peel and seal covers are massively collectable ♥
Join me for the musical ride 😛
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a drawing a day ::: october 2018 ::: day 31
#adrawingaday #aussieBIRDS
The Cassowary is a large (1.5 to 2 meter tall) bird native to northeastern Australia and New Guinea. The most common is the Southern Cassowary, the third tallest and second heaviest living bird, beaten in height only by the emu and ostrich. Both sexes look very similar and the adults have striking glossy black feathers with bright blue and highlights of orange and red. The female Cassowaries are larger than the male and are more aggressive. Due to the Cassowaries habitat being lost to agriculture and urbanisation they are under threat and often get killed by cars and domestic dogs. They are fruitivores (eat only fruit) and are responsible for the germination and distribution of many trees found in the northern Queensland rainforests. They need the rainforests and the rainforest needs them to survive. Cassowary females may mate with several males in a breeding season producing several nests. Once an egg is laid it is up to the male to incubate the egg for 2 months. He goes on to raise the chick until it is 9 months old ♥ There is a facebook group called Mission Beach Cassowaries dedicated to the protection of this majestic bird. Follow and help if you can.
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a drawing a day ::: october 2018 ::: day 30
#adrawingaday #aussieBIRDS
Rainbow Lorikeets are an extremely cheeky and friendly species of parrot found along the eastern seaboard from northern Queensland to South Australia. They live in rainforests, coastal bush and woodland areas. They have adapted well to living among people and they frequent my garden, often picking fights with other birds. With its bright red beak and colourful plumage, both sexes have a blue head and belly, green wings, tail and back and a yellowy orange breast. They move quickly either on their own or in large flocks commonly seen at dusk. They eat nectar, pollen, seeds, fruit and some insects. They can be attracted to gardens with bird seed and can be easily trained to eat out your hand ♥ I love them but we can’t feed them any more as the seed also attracts the destructive cockatoos. 
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a drawing a day ::: october 2018 ::: day 29
#adrawingaday #aussieBIRDS
The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo is a large cockatoo found in south-eastern Australia, from Eyre Peninsula, South Australia to south and central eastern Queensland. Its feathers are mostly brownish black and it has yellow cheek patches, a yellow tail band but unlike the sulfur-crested cockatoo, it has a short crest on the top of its head. The Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo favours eucalypt woodlands and pine plantations but they live in a variety of habitats ♥ They can be found in small or large flocks and are quite noisy, especially when enmass. They eat seeds and some insects and sadly these beautiful creatures don’t visit my garden… maybe they don’t like the bird seeds I buy.
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a drawing a day ::: october 2018 ::: day 28
#adrawingaday #aussieBIRDS
The little wattlebird is a honeyeater found in the coastal and sub-coastal south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Its the smallest of the wattlebirds and is mostly dark grey-brown with faint white shafts on each feather. Their underparts are grey heavily streaked with white. They have stunning blue-grey eyes. Little Wattlebirds prefer drier scrubby habitats like banksia healths, forests, woodlands and urban gardens. Feeding on nectar that they get using their long brush-tipped tongue that probe flowers and they sometimes catch insects in mid-air. I might need to plant more bottlebrushes in the hope of attracting these beauties ♥
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a drawing a day ::: october 2018 ::: day 27
#adrawingaday #aussieBIRDS
The Grey Fantail is a small grey bird with white eyebrows, throat and tail edges. It is easily recognised by its constantly fanned tail and its agility, they do aerial twists and turns. The Grey Fantail is found throughout Australia, the Soloman Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. They are found in most treed habitats and eat flying insects that they catch by chasing them from the foliage in the treetops. Both sexes are similar in appearance and they partially migrate north during winter. They are very inquisitive and will sometimes approach people. Such a cute little birdie ♥ Sadly we don’t have these in my garden.
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