| HONOLULU— The Department
of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is seeking entries in an art contest
to depict a bird for its 2006-2007 Hawai‘i Wildlife Conservation Stamp.
"The conservation stamp is required to validate the Hawai‘i State
hunting license. A separate game bird hunting stamp is required for
those intending to hunt game birds," said Peter Young, DLNR Chairperson.
"Funds from sales of the Hawai‘i Wildlife Conservation Stamps go
into the state Wildlife Revolving Fund to support wildlife populations
and habitat, and to manage hunting in the state. Activities and projects
supported by this fund have included surveys of game bird and mammal
populations; land leasing for hunting; predator control; and maintenance
of wildlife watering units."
"In addition, planting of native shrubs and trees, controlled burns,
removal of invasive plants, and other wildlife habitat improvement and
restoration projects are supported by these funds," Young said.
DLNR is looking for art depicting the Gray Francolin, also known as
the Black Partridge or Indian Francolin (scientific name: Francolinus
pondicerianus ) in a Hawai‘i habitat.
This bird is in the order Galliformes , which includes seven families
of gamebirds; and is in the family Phasianidae, which includes pheasants,
some quail, partridges, snowcocks, and francolins.
The Gray Francolin was introduced to the Big Island as part of a larger
exotic game bird release program to the Pu‘u Wa‘a Wa‘a Ranch, under
the auspices of the Hawai‘i Division of Fish and Game. Releases totaling
214 birds of California game farm origin were released at four different
sites in 1959, 1961, 1965, and 1966.
This species seems to be flourishing on the west side of the Big Island
but may even be more visible on Lana‘i and Moloka‘i, and small harvests
were taken in recent years on O‘ahu. None of this species was harvested
last year on Kaua‘i, but in previous years upwards of a dozen or two
have been reported taken from the field. This bird can readily be seen
on Lana‘i, especially along the road in the northwestern part of the
island, in open country and scrub haole koa and grasslands.
Its native range is southeastern Iran and Pakistan, throughout India
to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It has been introduced to northern Oman
and to several islands in the Indian Ocean including the Seychelles
and Mauritius. Attempts have been made to introduce this species to
the mainland U.S. but it is doubtful there are any sustainable populations
there. This bird has been used as a stamp image in India and Oman.
Prospective artists should note the following requirements for
this year's contest:
Entries must consist of a completed oil or acrylic
painting (watercolor not accepted) no more than 24" by 36"
and unframed (to be reduced to 1" X 1.5" stamp), OR an 8.5"
X 11" photo/print/photocopy of a completed painting.
All paintings sent must be accompanied by a $25.00 fee, to cover the
cost of returning artwork. Checks are to be made payable to the Department
of Land and Natural Resources. Otherwise, a photo, print, or photocopy
of an original painting may be sent with no fee (see application form).
The contest winner will receive a maximum fee of $1,000.
All entries must be received by April 7, 2006. Notification
of the winner will be made on April 11, 2006.
Copies of this announcement and the application form are available on
the website http://dofaw.net
or upon request, from the Division of Forestry and Wildlife, 1151 Punchbowl
St., Room 325, Honolulu, HI 96813.
Questions regarding the contest can be e-mailed to Edwin.D.Johnson@hawaii.gov
or directed to (808) 587-4185. Photos and paintings of the subject bird
are also available on the web (try entering "grey francolin photos"
or "francolinus ponderianus" in a search engine or see below).
If possible, go view the bird in the wild. Some Hawaiian habitat photos
are available on the DOFAW website under the Natural Areas Reserve System;
others can be found on the web in relation to where the bird is found;
for example see the Parker Ranch website listed below.
One easy way to pull up images from the internet (at least on Google)
is to type in the name of the bird, and then click on "images"
(just above the search window). One of the best comparisons of the Grey
vs. Erkel's Francolin can be found at www.parkerranch.com/bird.
Or check photos.htmlwww.haryana-online.com.
# # #
For more information, contact:
Clifford Inn
DLNR Education and Outreach Coordinator
Phone: (808) 587-0407
Clifford.G.Inn@hawaii.gov
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