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Belted Kingfisher Female A personal favorite, these intelligent, perky-looking birds are a treat to spot perched solitary on a fence post or telephone wire. I wanted to paint this one with its "spiky-do" photographed by Mike Roberts. Mike founded Return to Nature, a non-profit organization dedicated to instilling in youth an appreciation of nature (http://www.return2nature.org/about.htm). To feature the bird, I left the background unpainted and created a detailed watercolor with fine brushwork. The Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) is a stocky, medium-sized bird with a large head, a shaggy crest, and a long, heavy black bill tinged with blue-grey. This species shows reverse sexual dimorphism; the more colorful females sport a reddish-brown band across their upper belly extending down the flanks. Both sexes have a slate blue head, large white collar and band on the breast, with white on the belly. Its breeding habitat is near inland bodies of water or along coasts across most of Canada, Alaska and the United States. In winter, they migrate from the northern parts of their range to the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. The original watercolor, presented in a 1.5" wide knotty pecan wooden frame (single matted in an acid-free blue-core white mat incised with a double V-groove; outer dimension 16" x 18"), is available for $1,050.00. Limited edition prints and note cards are also available Click here for availability and price.