Arthur and Alan D. Singer: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Mistletoe

Artist: Arthur and Alan D. Singer
1917 -
Nationality: American
Artwork Year: 1978
Image Size: 13.75 by 11.75 inches
Overall Size: 19.5 by 17.5 inches
Medium: Water Color on Cold Press Illustration Board

Scissor-tailed Flycatcher

The courtship ballet of the male Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is unparalleled in the bird kingdom. He begins with a rhythmic climb to about a hundred feet, plunges down a fourth of the way, zigs up and zags down, all the while sounding a rolling chatter. Finally, he rockets straight up and at the peak of his climb falls into two or three spectacular somersaults. For all the painstaking fervor of the courtship rites, Scissor-tails care little for a tidy nest. Frail and sloppily built, the Flycatcher's nest is a shallow cup of twigs and grass. In it the female lays one egg a day until the set of four is complete. Romping through the trees, Scissor-tails snap their long streamer tails open and shut.

Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a unique choice among state flowers for two reasons. First, its interest and charm lie in its thick, yellowish green leaves and waxy white berries rather than in its tiny, inconspicuous flowers. Second, it is not a garden or cultivated flower but, like its five hundred or more relatives, a parasite, living on the branches of various kinds of trees from which it steals its sustenance. Its name comes from a very old Saxon word meaning "different twig." It was considered a twig of mysterious power because it remained green in winter, when all the leaves of the tree had fallen. The custom of kissing under a branch of Mistletoe apparently originated among the Druids.

This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood® First Day Cover for the 20¢ Oklahoma: Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and Mistletoe stamp issued on April 14, 1982.

Artwork Copyright © 1978 Unicover Corporation. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Images of the Artwork may be watermarked and/or digitally watermarked. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the copyright.

Our Stock Number (SKU): Sold

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