Singing bird automaton by Bliss Kolb with realistic song

I can't get enough of the bird automata by Bliss Kolb. This one comes to us courtesy of a post on the Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik blog. An established and multi-talented artist, it still strikes me as amazing how Bliss Kolb's automata appeared fairly recently so complete, mature, sophisticated, and cohesive. It's beautiful work and this bird is certainly no exception.

Mechanical Singing Birds have a long history. This hand-cranked mechanical singing bird carries on that tradition. The automaton has a bank of cams controlling the bird's six movements. Bellows provide air to blow a whistle, which employs a lever to change the pitch. The effect is a very lifelike birdsong. As usual, all of the mechanical and aesthetic details are superb.

You can see more automata by Bliss Kolb on his web site.

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