2016 Inktober - Day 28

Today's sketch is of a bird I'd never seen until now.  After research of the color and markings, I learned the bird to be an American Redstart that migrates to Southern Florida for the Winter.

Cute little bird and neat calls.  The one I saw was a female with mainly gray coloring and the yellow streaks in wing feathers and the yellow pattern in tail feathers that distinguishes this bird from other types.  The males are much darker with the yellow really standing out when he flashes his tail (according to all I've read).

What was so neat about my first sighting was getting the opportunity to watch it take a bath in our birdbath right outside where I sit all day.  Then flew up in the tree to dry off (I suppose).  The one I saw was a little bigger than a Black Capped Chickadee.

My sketch doesn't indicate the coloring by any means, working in black and white only.  And I didn't shade all the gray in the bird either as I would have done had I painted this.  I was after the shape of the bird and the facial markings more than anything and just recording this new bird sighting.

Used two fountain pens - Sailor Fude and the Platinum Carbon desk pen.