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Roseate Spoonbill

Roseate Spoonbill line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Roseate Spoonbill full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Roseate Spoonbill was completed on 8.15.2010. What an amazing looking bird! I saw a few of these on a visit to the Florida Everglades one year, and since then have wanted to create a drawing of one. They look so remarkable they almost don't look real, with the blue-gray bill and pink feathered body. The drawing is based on a photograph by the talented Valerie Abbot.

Information about the Roseate Spoonbill:

The Roseate Spoonbill is a member of the Threskiornithidae family. It is a gregarious wading bird, it is native to the swamps, marshes, lakes and ponds of the southern US, and breeds further south in South and Central America, as well some areas in the Caribbean. They are medium sized shorebirds, standing about 31 inches tall, (80 cm) with a 47-51 inch (120–130 cm) wingspan. Unlike herons, they will fly with their necks outstretched. The Roseate Spoonbill wades in the water looking for food by swishing its beak side to side while moving forward. It will eat small invertebrates and crustaceans, as well as amphibians like frogs and newts.