Tiny bird of Cairngorms mountain range helps spark bidding frenzy at Sotheby's art auction

                                                         

Landseer's Snow Bunting is a male adult displaying  

IT seems a lot of money to pay for a painting of a Snow Bunting, but it was not until bids had reached £5.946-million that the hammer fell at a Sotheby's auction this evening.

That was spectacularly higher than the pre-sale estimate of between £3-million and £4-million  for the work by  Sir Edwin Landseer (1802-73). 

Admittedly, the bunting was support actor to the Red Deer, but small is beautiful.

The Snow Bunting is mostly an uncommon autumn and winter visitor to Britain's coast, but today, as in Landseer's time, there is a small all-year breeding colony in the Scottish Highlands' Cairngorms range.                                        

 Red Deer, Mountain Hare, Golden Eagle in flight - and diminutive Snow Bunting  perched (left) on a rock

Autumn arrival - this Snow Bunting was detected at Filey in Yorkshire one morning in October last year