10. The family
Pair of partridges with their chicks
A large group that always pleases the eye
About these Birds
Some curiosities about these birds
Although partridges are well known in the hunting world, they are also very interesting and attractive when we notice them. They belong to the phasianidae family, and can be found in our fields and rural areas at many stages of their development. As in the painting, the males are looking for a feeding ground where they can show the females their strength and reproductive capacity, i.e. their good genetics to be chosen as the parents of the brood. The females, who are more delicate and lack spurs, make a very hard selection among the best males to ensure the best legacy.
The red colour of the partridges’ legs and beak is so striking that it is part of their scientific name Alectoris rufa, and the contrasting colour of their coverts and wing feathers, very characteristic of this species, is very noticeable.
In this painting you can see how the male’s expression shows the power and strength he wants to show to the mother, this one with an intelligent and caring look, because he is always looking after all his chicks, in this case nine, who at the slightest sign will take advantage of the striped brown colour of their plumage to, once immobile, go completely unnoticed. The chicks are called buckshot.
The partridge can be easily seen in our fields, with a heavy but fast and intense flight, showing its ability to escape. The song of the male breaks the dawns giving musical notes to the mown areas, the grasslands and the steppes, places that are very appetising for them as they are granivorous. The chicks are fast and elusive and it is impossible to catch them, their mother will call them to protect them and will always watch over them until they are independent.
How it was done
Discover how this Painting was made
This work was a creation dedicated to my father and my friend Blas Jesús Motos, who have always been in my thoughts while I was making it. It is a work of great dimensions, more than two metres high and three metres wide, being very difficult to recreate a scene with so many elements.
It is remarkable that it was almost impossible to find photographic material of the chicks, you always find photos of chicks seen from above, but I needed the image at ground level and at a very young age, something that is not often seen in the field. Finally, by looking at videos and photographs and using models of chicken chicks, I was able to achieve the desired result.
The flower that accompanies the brood is a rockrose (Cistus albidus), a very humble and adaptable but very showy plant that blooms in our fields from February to June and has very tomentose leaves that protect it from the sun. It adapts to the harsh Mediterranean soils and landscape and, together with thyme, gorse and kermes oak, forms the thicket that usually protects and shelters our partridge families.
ROUTE OF PAINTINGS
The Painting Route through Vélez-Blanco continues
This painting is located on the façade of a neighbour in Vélez Blanco, it is next to a door and its dimensions are 3.15 m wide and 2.10 m high. You can see other works by following our street route in Vélez Blanco.
BOOKINGS
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You will discover a different kind of rural accommodation, with all the comforts of a completely restored house but with a rural feel. With fireplace, wine cellar, games room, table football room, spacious lounge, comfortable bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen and in the heart of a unique village with its beauty as is Vélez Blanco.
