Feb 22, 2008

Daily drawing: The Ory


When I received the email announcement of the Illustration Friday theme for last week, “the ory”, I must admit I was a little mystified, as I had never heard of an ory. But, as always, Wikipedia held the answer:


The ory is a wiry-framed, ill-tempered and slightly nervous flightless bird, native to the lowlands of the northwestern region of North America. Its diet consists mainly of navel oranges, salted sunflower seeds and root beer, and it prefers to nest in damp, drafty areas like garage-entry basement suites or 24-hour laundromats. Daytime sightings are rare, but the ory is often active just after dusk and can be spotted darting under suburban streetlights alone or sometimes in pairs, although it is rare to find the animal in groups greater than three.


The ory is a vivid aqua colour with a highly pigmented tangerine beak, and can be recognized by the scabby, eczema-ridden knee joints on its long spindly legs. It is often used for scientific research, mainly due to its extensive knowledge of quantum physics, its knack for lighting bunsen burners on the first try, and, to a lesser extent, for its exhaustive recall of 1950’s beat poetry. Its distinct call is shrill and nasal, and can often be heard echoing under downtown railway bridges and in mezzanines of used bookstores. The mating ritual of the ory is so rare as to appear nonexistent and has never been observed or documented, leading experts to wonder how they are able to proliferate so rapidly in areas with high occurrences of noodle shops and comic book stores.


So, there you have it. Isn’t it nice when art can be educational?


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