Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Black-Crowned Night Heron" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor on Illustration Board.
Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation.
This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood commemorative cover for the Minnesota "Shorebirds of the 50 States", cancelled May 11, 1986.
Often seen in the evening sky as a dark silhouette -- head perfectly in line with its back and its bill pointed forward -- the Black-crowned Night Heron flies with steady beats of broad wings. While in flight, the Black-crowned utters a series of loud guttural quoks. Primarily seen during their dusk feedings, the chunky, short-legged adults are not strictly nocturnal. These Herons frequent fresh water but may be found along salt marshes and woodland wetlands. Extremely social birds, the Black-crowneds gather in rookeries of dozens -- sometimes hundreds -- of birds. In these crowded rookeries, a red-footed male gathers sticks and weeds, while his mate works them into the nest. Mating birds shake their heads, rattle their bills, and nibble each other's plumage. Often, they utter soft, plaintive wok-wok sounds. Both parents incubate the bluish-green eggs until hatching occurs three weeks later. Nestlings at first get only regurgitated juices, but soon tug at the parent's beak for solid food. After the breeding season, Black-crowneds roam far away from the nesting sites. The Black-crowned Night Heron is also a particularly long-lived member of the Heron family, with banded birds collected fifteen to twenty years later. The Black-crowned is also called the Squawk, the American Night Heron and the qua-bird.
Image Size: 10.75 x 12.5 in.
Overall Size: 19.25 x 21 in.
Unframed.
(B10237)
Condition
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