This is a bird note.

As a kid, artist David Shepard would sketch all the flora and fauna he saw.

His true love was for plants.

But when he moved to Hawaii to study botany, he realized.

Hawaii is special because its main character is birds.

Birds were the dominant species in terms of animal life.

And so all the plants really co-evolved with the birds.

You can see that in just how specific the beaks of different species are

to the shapes of the flowers here.

And so that became part of my art.

Dauved now designs aloha shirts featuring the native plants and wildlife of Hawaii.

One design features the I-I-V. E. E. E. E. B.

So the E. B.

Dart from flower to flower to flower very quickly.

Well, the Hawaiian saw this and they

thought of the metaphor that it was like procreation, the metaphor for the

health of the forest, because only in its procreation can exist.

Then hidden among the trees, David has drawn Kahuli, or native land snails.

Their existence in the forest is special because if they were around, it was said that the

forest would sing.

And songs are also a very important element of Hawaiian

culture because it's how things are passed on from generation to generation.

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