Well, I found an "X" painting that didn't involve my brother-in-law's Xray (ew). So there. I think it is appropriate that the Xantus's Murrelet is also known as "synthiliboramphus hypolecus scrippsi" and it was painted with "anthraquinone blue"... From now on I am referring to that blue as Anthra Blue. So there. These are very rare birds of the Pacific coastline, mostly Southern California and Baja regions. Outside of breeding season, they range from the southern Baja to the Northern B.C. areas. I've never seen one. Our Oregon coast has the Marbled Murrelet, which has varigated feathers, but pretty much the same body size. I think they are pretty interesting because they raise their young entirely at sea. I do think Murrelets look like they are wearing blue-black velvet, which makes the use of Anthra Blue a plus. This is a Franken-murrelet, pulled together from Audobon Society description, Google, Oregon Coast Aquarium photos of the Marbled, etc. Quite a fun mental excursion. Painting the water was interesting and based on many hours of cross-eyed watching the coastal water patterns and imagining what it looks like when a bird/vessel floats atop and moves through same.