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Great Egret In Full Plumage I sketched this elegant male bird bedecked in "lacy" breeding plumage onto brown acid-free matboard from a photo taken in a Gulf Coast wilderness by Frederick Kent Truslow. Highly published in National Geographic magazine and elsewhere, Truslow was one of the great US wildlife photographers. Permission to use his photography was granted by his son, Stuart Truslow. I painted it mostly with acrylics but added a touch of transparent watercolor in the shadows. Previously known as the Common or American Egret, the Great Egret, Ardea alba, is a large wading bird found near any form of water. It widely occurs from southern Canada southward to Argentina, as well as in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. Apart from size, they are distinguished from other such birds by their yellow/orange bill and black legs and feet. Great egrets are seasonally monogamous animals. Males are responsible for selecting a territory and performing a series of courtship rituals in order to attract a female. Typically, their nests are built with other egrets and herons in a colony or heronry in wetlands and wooded swamps. Nests are a flimsy platform constructed of sticks, twigs, and stems built as high as possible. Great egrets are capable of reproducing after two years and raise one brood a year. The original acrylic, presented in a 2" dark brown and black wooden frame (double matted in an acid-free brown that matches the painting's background incised with a double v-groove on a soft yellow inner mat; outer dimension 22" x 28"), is available for $2,995. Limited edition prints and note cards are also available. Click here for availability and price.