Palaeoart: Mating Display

Because I was so impressed with the artwork I found last night by Emily Willoughby I decided to do another post on her work, this time, as with the last, we see her knowledge of modern birds shining through.

This piece is entitled 'Balaur bondoc is a bird', which it is, and we see that easiest here. Without having to look too closely it is evident that the Balaur on the log is a male from the more colourful plumage around the neck. The other animal is a more neutral colouring and therefore can be assumed to be a female. How can we make these assumptions? By doing what the artist did and taking a look at modern birds. Mallard ducks are a good example, the drake is more decorated than the female in order to compete for mating rights.

While watching pigeons in the street we also see another parallel between this depiction of the male dinosaur. The puffing around the neck, while fending off other males, birds such as pigeons will puff their feathers to appear bigger which also attracts a female. This is most likely what Willoughby is trying to portray here. Even the front limbs are held like wings.

Its safe to say I'm now a big fan of this artist, she brings modern birdlike features to the world of the dinosaurs, making for very interesting artwork. This won't be the last you see of Willoughby as I want to share more of her work on here.

Let me know what your thoughts are on this work in the comments.