Eastern Towhee by Majo San

Take heed to the chook on this mural!

Painted: October 2025

In regards to the Mural: On this mural by artist Majo San, an Jap Towhee perches on a vine of native Virginia creeper. As a part of the Audubon Mural Project—a public-art initiative drawing consideration to birds which can be weak to extinction from local weather change—NYC Parks’ Artwork within the Parks program and NYC Parks GreenThumb labored with the Nationwide Audubon Society, Gitler &_____ Gallery, and native artists to design murals in group gardens throughout town. By a collaborative course of between the companions, artist, and backyard group, every mural was designed to characteristic climate-threatened birds in addition to native plants that birds depend on for meals and shelter. By creating vibrant city inexperienced areas, group gardeners present important help for birds and folks. Discover extra murals from the collaboration here.

This mural was created with Discovery Community Garden 2, half of a pair of interlinked inexperienced areas in Jamaica, Queens. Together with rising crops, the gardens host group occasions and youth programming to attach with the neighborhood. 

In regards to the Hen: The Jap Towhee is a placing but secretive sparrow with a darkish hood, shiny purple eyes, and rusty sides offset by a shiny white stripe down its chest. The birds are sometimes noticed scratching round within the undergrowth of thickets, letting out nasally chewink calls.

The towhee’s populations have dropped off within the Northeast, although stay steady in different ranges. Local weather change, nevertheless, poses additional threats: If warming continues at its present tempo, this species is projected to lose 83 % of its present summer time vary, in keeping with Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking motion to restrict local weather change may also help guarantee these birds can thrive throughout a wider vary of landscapes. In the meantime, sustaining pockets of inexperienced house equivalent to group gardens—and filling them with native crops—can supply important locations for birds to relaxation and refuel.

In regards to the Artist: Majo San is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Mexico Metropolis and based mostly in New York since 2018. She works on a spread of tasks together with murals, work, installations, and tattoos, which regularly spotlight texture and natural parts. Her items embrace themes of group, nature, the exploration of our minds, and the way we relate with our world and actuality, in addition to contemplations of her religious follow rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. “I invite to not solely see nature, however to really feel it, and in that approach, go deeper and strengthen our connection,” she says.

For this mural, the artist says she loved the stark distinction between the hues of the chook and its plant perch, and hopes the work can remind folks of nature’s magnificence even within the midst of town. She painted murals on either side of the linked Discovery Neighborhood Gardens and loved spending time within the pure house—in addition to consuming produce shared along with her by backyard members. “It was a pleasure to satisfy the gardeners and see how they make investments their time to nurture and share what they’ve,” she says.