the nightingale's excuse

I title this piece "The Conference of Birds" (yes, that is a reference to Farid ud-Din Attar's title for his mystical poem). But surely these little birds must have their own story... I did some extensive research, so that each bird would be based on a unique specie that really exists in nature. The leaves are all gold, including the leaves on the lone olive tree on the horizon. The yellow of the sky is ever so slightly brighter than in these photos. I can't get enough of the gold as it glows when it basks in natural light...You may or may not have noticed a certain little dove with an olive branch in it's beak...