Bufflehead Canvas Print

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)
This is an approximately life-size painting of a small duck and one that is a favourite of mine and most bird-savvy folks I know. The Bufflehead weighs only about 272 to 635 grams (about 9.6 ounces to less than 1½ pounds) making them small enough to nest in tree cavities originally excavated by flickers, which are medium-sized woodpeckers. The English name is a corruption of “buffalo-head”, a reference to the large-headed look imparted to the birds, especially the males such as I have shown, by the long and fluffy feathers of the head. The female’s apparent head size is somewhat more proportionate. They nest primarily around ponds, including beaver ponds, and small lakes in boreal and northern forests up to the treeline. As they are highly migratory, common, and widely distributed across the continent, they can be found at one time or another on water virtually anywhere in North America south of the tundra. They are monogamous, and the...