Anyone know what this bird is?

[MiaCarter]

KarenB - You ARE good!
From the Google images, it seems this bird typically looks so different, so I'm shocked and impressed that you were able to recognize! Plus, you're from Texas, and it seems they're prominent in that area. So I bet you've had a chance to see them?!

@MariusStegmann -- Ah, I see what you mean about the legs! The knees appear to be in totally different locations!
I thought it was a real bird, only due to the natural look of the spikey feathers. It would be VERY time consuming isolating those spikes in a natural way as would be required to composite him with another bird.

I've never seen these composited birds! They sound fun!

[KarenB]

That bird has its right leg (left side in the pic) lifted up and back more than the left leg, as if he is about to make a stride. That's why the two legs may look different. You are seeing the bird head-on, so the perspective makes the legs look different.

[KarenB]

KarenB - You ARE good!
From the Google images, it seems this bird typically looks so different, so I'm shocked and impressed that you were able to recognize! Plus, you're from Texas, and it seems they're prominent in that area. So I bet you've had a chance to see them?!

@MariusStegmann -- Ah, I see what you mean about the legs! The knees appear to be in totally different locations!
I thought it was a real bird, only due to the natural look of the spikey feathers. It would be VERY time consuming isolating those spikes in a natural way as would be required to composite him with another bird.

I've never seen these composited birds! They sound fun!

I've seen TONS of shorebirds in my lifetime, yes! I live near the coast. Also tons of warblers, and other passerines, etc.

[KarenB]

This is a lousy photo that I took of a reddish egret once. I had to zoom WAY in to get it, so the quality is poor.



This is a rookery on the Gulf Coast that I visit yearly. If you go several weeks in a row, you can get to see the stages of nesting, eggs, nestlings and fledges. It's very cool.



And here is a painting that I did which was inspired by the rookery. I posted this in the off-topic forum once.

[lyswood]

MiaCarter "So it appears it's his bad hair day that's the source of his fury." HA!!!

He's adorable!!!