Red knot, breeding plumage – original artwork

Red knot, breeding plumage – original artwork
Calidris canutus

unmatted, unframed (see photo)
watercolor and gouache paints on hot press watercolor paper
Image size: 10.5 x 6 inches
Paper size: 15 x 11.5 inches

These shorebirds occur throughout much of the world, and have remarkably long migrations. I think their summer plumage is quite lovely. I painted this red knot, shown as if hunting for food in the sand, for an interpretive sign at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.