11" x 14" - Thrashers in the Ceanothus nutcracker This group of three Rufous

This group of three Rufous Hummingbirds features an adult male

Gouache and colored pencil on Duralene

Sierra Nevada Blue Butterfly caterpillars (Plebejus podarce) eat Shooting Stars and Hunt's Bumblebee (Bombus huntii) pollinates many different flowers

Buck brush (Ceanothus cuneatus) is one of our dominant chaparral shrubs

It is a strong flyer and will generally retreat quickly when approached

11" x 14" - Thrashers in the Ceanothus nutcracker This group of three RufousCalifornia's foothills are blanketed with vast swaths of shrubbery, also known as chaparral. This dense growth provides habitat for a number of animals. Buck brush (Ceanothus cuneatus) is one of our dominant chaparral shrubs. It is eaten by caterpillars of the Ceanothus Silk Moth (Hyalophora euryalus). California Thrashers (Toxostoma redivivum) use their long, curved bills to dig for food in the leaf litter beneath shrubs and perch atop them to sing.