A few examples of appraisal values for
FLIGHT FEATHERS

• DON BALKE (B. 1933) "ROSEATE SPOONBILL"Don
  DON BALKE (B. 1933) "ROSEATE SPOONBILL"Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Roseate Spoonbill" Signed lower left. Original Watercolor on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood commemorative cover for the "Shorebirds of the 50 States" issue, cancelled April 30, 1986. Amid the mangrove swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, high in the cypress trees laden with Spanish moss, a colony of Roseate Spoonbills can be found roosting quietly. As they begin to spread their wings in flight, their stunning plumage is revealed. The bright pink and white body plumes are highlighted with vibrant yellow-orange tail feathers. The vivid carmine or scarlet shoulder patterns complement the Roseate Spoonbill's showy pale pink flight feathers. Gracefully gliding toward the water, their esthetic beauty is spoiled by their bald heads and oversized spoon-shaped bill. However, the bill which ruins the visual beauty of the Spoonbill is truly remarkable in its own right. Each bird swings the partly opened bill in an effortless 180ø arc through the brackish swamp water feeling for fish. When the nerve endings along the inner lining of the bill indicate contact with a living animal, the Spoonbill snaps its bill shut, trapping its prey. After feeding, the Spoonbills fly back to roost or to their nests to feed their young. The Spoonbill builds a bulky nest of sticks and twigs lined with leaves and soft bark in densely-leaved low trees or bushes. Both sexes incubate the eggs, and chicks hatch within one month. The buff-white hatchlings already have the spatulate bills of adults, but must be fed until they are capable of flight several months later. Slow to mature, Roseate Spoonbills are not fully adult until their third year. Image Size: 11 x 12.75 in. Overall Size: 19.25 x 21 in. Unframed. (B10222) Condition: - By registering to bid for this auction either in-house or online and/or placing a bid in this auction the BIDDER/BUYER agrees to all the terms and conditions of Helmuth Stone Gallery Auctions. - Due to the size of our gallery not all items are out for preview at one time. If you plan on coming to preview any lot(s) we recommend letting us know prior so we can have them collected and prepared for your preview. - All silver, gold and/or jewelry lots or invoices containing said lots MUST be paid for via WIRE TRANSFER, no other forms of payment will be accepted. - All items are sold as-is where-is and no guarantees are made of any kind. All sales are final; no refunds will be given under any circumstances. - All artwork is listed and sold per section (10) of our terms and conditions, please read over all definitions of authorship prior to bidding to better understand artwork listings. - Helmuth Stone Gallery provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. - Online images can sometimes be low quality due to the uploading process, original high-resolution images can be requested via email at HelmuthStone@gmail.com - We recommend looking into shipping quotes prior to bidding, shipping quotes can take up to a week or more post-sale as we host our auctions through multiple online platforms and shipping can become backlogged, if you would like a list of local shippers please email us directly. - Our auction catalogs are hosted through multiple online platforms along with phone and in-house bidding. Bids placed on other platforms are not shown through this catalog. Because of this, even if it appears you are the only absentee bid or bidder on a lot, you may already be outbid or may have placed a bid equal to another bidder. Therefore, we always recommend bidding live. - Unless otherwise stated in the description, all items are sold without additional documentation or COAs. If any supporting documentation is available an image will be available online via the catalog listing.