Intricate stained-glass songbird perched on a branch amid autumn leaves and berry clusters.

Stained-Glass Songbird Among Autumn Berries

A sleek songbird grips a berry-laden branch, surrounded by layered maple, oak, and oval leaves in stained-glass panels.

🎨 How to color it

Layer the songbird in slate blue and warm tan, make the berry clusters deep cranberry, and give the maple and oak leaves amber, rust, and olive tones. Use sharp colored pencils for the narrow feather panels and leaf veins, turning the page as you follow each curved stained-glass section. For a mischievous glow, shade the background leaf pieces from pale gold near the bird’s beak to smoky green at the corners.

The story behind this coloring page

The Berry Thief’s Perfect Perch — Every afternoon, Garnet counted the red berries by tapping the branch with one neat claw, then stealing only the odd-numbered one, because even a thief deserved standards. Read the full story →

Every afternoon, Garnet counted the red berries by tapping the branch with one neat claw, then stealing only the odd-numbered one, because even a thief deserved standards. The thicket smelled of rain-polished bark and peppery leaves, and his little challenge had gone beautifully until one day a berry popped loose, bounced off a twig, and knocked three more into the hollow below with a scandalous plink-plink-plonk.

Because of that, the squirrels accused the wind. Because of that, the wind huffed so hard that the maple leaves clattered like dishes, and Garnet’s hiding branch swung him straight into the center of everyone’s argument. “Technically,” he said, with cranberry juice on his beak, “I improved the music.”

At last he tapped out the true count, returned the fallen berries to the lowest cluster, and kept only the odd one that had started it all. The thicket settled around him, creaking, bright, and entirely his kind of trouble; every afternoon, Garnet counted the red berries by tapping the branch with one neat claw.