Birds Of A Feather, Original Watercolor, Marcia Carole
Above is my latest completed watercolor of Merganser ducks. I started it last spring, and only a year later, it is finished! I did take a major break from the piece, but it is nice to have it completed. I have two females fighting while a male quizzically watches the conversation.
” ‘Hooded’ is something of an understatement for this extravagantly crested little duck. Adult males are a sight to behold, with sharp black-and-white patterns set off by chestnut flanks. Females get their own distinctive elegance from their cinnamon crest. Hooded Mergansers are fairly common on small ponds and rivers, where they dive for fish, crayfish, and other food, seizing it in their thin, serrated bills. They nest in tree cavities; the ducklings depart with a bold leap to the forest floor when only one day old.” – http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/hooded_merganser/id
You can hear the male and female Mergansers here: Mergansers. The male sounds like he is snoring!