Nature Done Wright

On Monday  I asked:

On a recent visit to Amsterdam, I saw this 1887 painting in the Van Gogh Museum. What kind of bird is it?

Hint: It's called "Kingfisher by the Waterside." But which one?

I think the more you know about a work of art, the better.

Was there a reason that Van Gogh chose this species of bird? It would be helpful to know what species it is before speculating.

Diane Louie and Ravi Potluri both responded correctly — a Common Kingfihser.

You can read more about the somewhat Common Kingfisher here.

A photo of the Common Kingfisher from Cornell is below.

Not sure what Van Gigh was driving at, because to me the bird in the photo is magnificent and Van Gogh's is, well, meh.

What do you think? Does Van Gogh's painting seem different after seeing a photo of an actual kingfisher?