How bird illustrators help science soar
| Ithaca, N.Y.
When international researchers recently discovered that a population of hummingbirds in South America was actually two distinct species 鈥� a finding made after much trekking and tracking and genome sequencing 鈥� they called on Jillian Ditner to help explain their work.
Ms. Ditner is a bird illustrator at Cornell University鈥檚 Lab of Ornithology. And in her rendering, she could highlight the distinctions between Patagona gigas, the southern giant hummingbird, and Patagona sp. nov., the new northern giant hummingbird.聽
鈥淐an you see the difference?鈥� she asks, pointing to an image of two birds, belly side up.聽聽
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onA popular science illustration fellowship for bird artists aims to highlight the benefits of deep observation in a digital age.
The birds look nearly the same. But look closely, and the plumage on the right has a bit more reddish-brown saturation. There is more distinct coloration around the northern鈥檚 neck; a beak that extends just a bit longer.聽聽
This is one of the skills of the bird illustrator. More so than a photographer, Ms. Ditner explains, these artists can accentuate and highlight differences in species. They can exaggerate just a bit the ideal features that help reveal an animal鈥檚 distinct parts; play with that boundary between reality and understanding.聽
鈥淧hotographs are always going to be limited,鈥� she says. 鈥淲ith scientific illustrations 鈥� you can take endless angles of a photograph and put them in one picture 鈥� there鈥檚 the ability to condense a lot of detail into one visual.鈥澛�
Ms. Ditner runs Cornell鈥檚 unique Bartels Science Illustration Program, a year-long fellowship for bird artists that has seen skyrocketing popularity since its founding two decades ago. (This year, Ms. Ditner received 215 applications for the solo spot; that鈥檚 up from a few dozen, she says, when she started in her position six years ago.)聽
The Bartels program is part of Cornell鈥檚 Lab of Ornithology, which many birders in the area just call 鈥渢he Lab.鈥�
In many ways, the Lab is a high-tech place. Researchers use machine learning and weather data to predict complex migration patterns; they have developed virtual learning tools that have digitized a world of ornithological data. The Lab鈥檚 newly renovated visitor鈥檚 center will have interactive exhibits that allow humans to manipulate screens to see what birds see 鈥� a literal 鈥渂ird鈥檚-eye view鈥� on the world.
Outside, researchers keep a live camera on a busy bird feeder, which is streamed online, with sound, across the world. Researchers here have also developed an app called Merlin, which works kind of like a Shazam for birds. (Record the bird songs in your backyard, and the app will tell you which species is singing.)聽
Amid all of this technology, the Bartels program reflects another goal, one that its participants say is equally important for the understanding of our natural world.聽聽
At a time when a global library of digital images lives in one鈥檚 pocket, when attention is fought over and commoditized, there is something precious about the act of deep observation and the hand-drawn beauty that science illustration requires.聽聽
The bird artists at the Lab are specialists in that larger field of science illustration, a profession that includes everything from botanical sketches and renderings of the solar system to medical drawings and wildlife art.聽
Despite advances in both photography and artificial intelligence, the scientific illustration field is growing, say those who work in the field. According to聽The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia鈥檚 renowned natural history museum, new technology has only for science illustrators, who can help bring either nanoparticles or galaxies to a comprehensible scale; a handful of colleges have science illustration programs.
Art will 鈥渄raw people in鈥�
Charlotte Holden, an artist and longtime bird lover, was one of the Bartels Illustrators in 2002. During her time in the program, Ms. Holden worked with researchers, studied bird anatomy, and honed her realism style by combining bird images with illustrations of their native flora. Like many who go through the program, her work appeared in Cornell鈥檚 Living Bird magazine, on posters, and on other materials.
鈥淵ou need people to pick up an article or to pick up a magazine and read about what鈥檚 happening in the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淎rtwork is the way to grab people鈥檚 attention. That鈥檚 what I try to do 鈥� to use artwork to keep people鈥檚 interest in different topics.鈥澛�
Although Ms. Holden has been watching birds ever since she was a child outside of New York City, it was only by drawing, she says, that she began to recognize details like a bird鈥檚 different feather groups, or unique colors.聽
It鈥檚 like life, she says. It鈥檚 hard to see the details when everything is in motion.聽聽
Ornithological art slows us down. It has a long history that blurs science and art and wonder; a moment to pause and appreciate the world around us.聽
鈥淎ll I can say is birds are beautiful,鈥� says Ms. Ditner. 鈥淭hey have such a diversity of plumage, such a diversity of behavior. There are some that eat flowers, some that eat mice. They鈥檙e basically gems 鈥� gems of the sky.鈥�
Bird artists must understand the anatomy of their subjects 鈥� their habitats, movements, colors; how millions of years of evolution have brought an individual to be just this way, with just this pattern.聽
But these illustrators also need to connect with other humans. When the Lab releases, say, a new mug to send to supporters, the images are drawn by hand 鈥� a connection between artist and animal, human to human.
鈥淎rt in itself is just very inspiring,鈥� says Maria Klos, a 2023 Bartells Illustrator who now lives in California. 鈥淚t seems to always draw people in.鈥澛犅�
One of Ms. Klos鈥� projects during her time in the program was to draw a pair of life-size American condor wings, which are now attached to one of the Lab鈥檚 exterior walls.聽聽
Visitors can put their arms up against the image to see how their own 鈥渨ingspans鈥� measure up; one more moment of art, bird, and human together.聽聽
Both Ms. Klos and Ms. Holden have continued their jobs as professional illustrators; both recently put on shows of their art and both say they are inspired to continue drawing nature professionally. The Bartels program has opened doors to new professional contracts, they say, but also a new way of seeing the world.
鈥淚t fosters a deeper connection to nature 鈥� when you just sit with it and observe it,鈥� Ms. Klos says. 鈥淵ou see things that you might have been overlooking for a long time, or might never have noticed if you didn鈥檛 sit down with it and draw it.鈥�
