In 1794 he moved to Bristol, where he married Martha Dodrell and pursued a career in artistic commissions: portraiture, book illustrations, and church painting.

[4] Bird's greatest influence on the Bristol artists was in the naturalistic style and fresh colours of his genre painting, especially so in the case of Rippingille, who worked closely with him.

Placed next to Wilkie's The Cut Finger, it attracted attention, and Bird's popularity grew when the Prince Regent bought his The Country Choristers and commissioned Blind Man's Buff.

His works also include the Field of Chevy Chase and the Day after the Battle, which was pronounced his masterpiece.

[5] The following year a successful retrospective exhibition of his work was shown at the Bristol Fire Office, for the benefit of his family.