I've now created several mugs in my "Birding" series. Whether they sell or not, they're a lot of fun to research and create. Part of the enjoyment is finding bird families that can be easily identified by their profile, rather than detailed markings.

As a birder, I've often preferred migratory songbirds to shorebirds, since shorebirds all seem to have similar colorings and markings, making it seem difficult to identify them from a distance. But I'm beginning to find this only applies to a few types. The majority of my profiles are of birds that live near the water, forcing me to realize that these are, possibly, the most diverse types of birds in a single habitat. After all, in profile alone, a warbler is similar to a vireo, which can be similar to a tanager. The profiled details in many songbirds are minor -- a slightly thicker bill here, a longer tail there -- but few dramatic, at-a-glance profiles.

Meanwhile, I continue to sgraffito birds, enjoying the profile, the settings in which I place them, and the pleasure when other birders see a mug and go "That's a ........."