The Female Has Her Day

I was thrilled that the designers chose this illustration for the cover of the Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City. The birds are American Redstarts, warblers that migrate to New York City in the spring and stay through early fall.  They are small birds, about 4-5 inches long and are sexually dimorphic--the males and females have different appearances.
In my drawing, I purposely placed the female American Redstart in the front and turned her face so she's looking right at us.  She catches our eyes and says that she's important too.  In fact, even though he may be the flashy one who picks out the location, she's the one who builds and tends the nest.