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On May 5, 1969, a few kilometers outside the city of Guayaquil, in southern Ecuador, I was birding with my mother when I encountered this charming little woodpecker, the Scarlet-backed Woodpecker (Veniliornis callonotus) at that time the smallest woodpecker I had ever seen, about the size of a White-breasted Nuthatch. It is found only along the Pacific watershed of equatorial South America, in Ecuador and Peru. These are northern birds from Ecuador. Those from southern Peru have faintly barred breasts and a black streak through the lower ear coverts. The painting is in acrylics on a Russian birch panel mounted on a basswood frame and is 12 by 6 inches. Sold.

Renowned Canadian bird artist, writer, naturalist, and conservationist, Barry Kent MacKay has “always been an admirer of birds, anxious to see them, paint them, and care for them.” Barry’s biological and ecological accuracy has put him in demand for commissions, to illustrate books, scientific journals and various print and digital media. He has painted birds and other wildlife from around the world, often life size, working in oils, watercolours, and acrylics. He prefers to sell original art, and keeps prices low. “Actual, original art should be affordable for middle class buyers,” he says. “I avoid having to depend on selling reproductions so that the market does not dictate what I paint, which can often be little-known...