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Green Heron

Green Heron line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Green Heron full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Green Heron illustration was completed on 10.22.2009. The herons are some of my favorite birds on earth. They're always so interesting to watch as they prowl along the shallows looking for food. Thus drawing had a special set of challenges; mostly the characteristic coloring of red-brown, blue and green of the Green Heron that overlaps in several areas of the body. As with all my drawings my goal is to make the object appear very three-dimensional and demonstrate the texture of the animals surface (in this case semi-translucent feathers.) The drawing is based on a photo by Jenny Jackson.

Information about the Green Heron:

The Green Heron is a small, stocky wading bird of the family Ardeidae. They grow to about 17 inches long with a wingspan of 25 inches. These birds are native to swamps (especially mangrove swamps) bogs and other low-lying wetlands of the southern parts of North America down into Central America and into northern South America. Like other herons they patrol the shores and shallow areas looking for fish, frogs and invertebrates. Occasionally the Green Heron will drop food, insects or other objects into the water to attract fish. Very few other birds have learned this "tool-using" ability.