Step 6: On the lower, right side, draw two long, sloping, vertical lines as guides for the bird's tail. Pay attention to the length of the tail in relation to the body. Draw a line at the bottom to close off the shape. Under the body, on the left side, draw a two short, curved lines as guide for the kingfisher's feet.

That's it for the guides! From this point on, press harder with your pencil for a more defined drawing.

Step 7: Inside the head, near the middle, lightly sketch a small circle for the kingfisher's eye. Use the initial lines as guides for size and placement. When you get the shape right, darken the lines. Draw a couple of curved lines around the edge of the eye for the eyelids. Farther out around the eye, draw a series of short strokes for the feathers around the eye. Inside the bird's eye, off to the side, draw a tiny circle for a highlight. In the middle, draw a big dot for the pupil. Shade in the eye using a value that's almost as dark as the pupil. Don't overlap the tiny highlight circle.

Step 8: Use the long, triangular shape on the left side of the head as a guide to draw the beak. Darken the top part of the guide. Draw a long, horizontal line across the middle of the shape for the kingfisher's mouth. The line for the mouth should stretch to the inside of the head, close to the eye. Darken the lower edge of the guide for the bottom of the beak and stretch the line inside the head too. The shape of the beak should be thick. Draw a series of short strokes on the right side for the feathery base. Draw a short line on the top part of the bird's beak, near the base, for the nostril.

Step 9: Use the edge of the initial circle as a guide to draw the crest on the kingfisher's head. Draw a series of short strokes around the basic path of the circle to create the spiky crest. Use a long, vertical line above the beak for the front part of the head. Use strokes of different sizes for the bird's head, but on average the strokes should be short. Leave a few gaps between the strokes. Don't draw the strokes too uniform. Vary them a little. As you draw the strokes around the circle, tilt the shapes like the second marks on a clock. Use shorter strokes on the lower, right side to complete the kingfisher bird's mohawk-like crest.