A Humboldt Penguin for Day 18 prompt of "Flightless" for #Inktober2026. Endemic to the west coast of South America, it's known in Peru as the pajaro-niño, or baby bird, due to their waddling gate & flightless wings held out suggesting the image of an infant toddling on the beach.

A Regent Bowerbird for #Inktober2026 Day 17 prompt of "contraption". Found in Australia, males construct ground-level "avenue" bowers ("contraptions") made of sticks that are decorated with objects (such as bottle caps, feathers, and colorful plastic) to attract females.

Day 16 of #Inktober2026 is a "gangly" giraffe.

To connect a bird to the #Inktober2026 Day 15 prompt "Hooray" I will use the Mnemonics that birders often use to translate the musical pattern of the Song Sparrow. It sounds like the phrase "Hip, hip, hooray, boys, spring is here".

Here's #Inktober2026 day 14 prompt of "Lady". A ladybug.

A Portuguese Man o' War, also nicknamed the "floating terror", is my selection for the #Inktober2026 day 13 prompt of "flimsy". They are a soft-bodied or delicate (flimsy) animal that lacks rigid bones and made up mostly of water.

A Banded Archerfish for the October 12th #Inktober2026 prompt "Toss". This one is just "tossing" a jet of water at its prey to knock it off the leaf so it can snack on it when it spashes down in the water .

For #Inktober2026 day 11 prompt of ""Rescue" I chose the St. Bernard dog, rescuer of the stranded among the alpine regions. It was really interesting to read about the development of this breed.

The Kraken is a mystical, mythical, legendary, and titanic sea monster from Scandinavian folklore, said to dwell in the cold waters off the coasts of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland. It was probably based on the giant squid. For the #Inktober2026 prompt for Day 10 of "Mystical".

A Bighorn Sheep ram for the #Inktober2026 prompt of “Ram” for October 9th.

A skunk for the Day 8 prompt "Stinky" for #Inktober2026. In Indigenous North American oral traditions and folklore, the skunk symbolizes personal boundaries, non-aggressive power, self-respect, and spiritual balance. Thus, I included the yin yang symbolism.

For #Inktober2026 prompt of "panic" for October 7. A Virginia Opossum. North Americas only marsupial. When panicked, threatened, or harmed, they'll "play possum", mimicking the appearance & smell of a sick or dead animal. They eat a lot of ticks which puts them in my good graces.

An Ogre-Faced Spider for #Inktober2026 prompt for October 6 of "Ogre". They can be found in various forms in the circumtropical and subtropical habitats around the globe. A good prompt for the Halloween season.

A smack of Box Jellyfish for the #Inktober2026 prompt for October 5 of "Smack". Smack is a descriptive collective noun used to describe a gathering of jellyfish, based on the painful stinging sensation and physical slap-like impact of jellyfish tentacles hitting human skin.

A Cactus Wren (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus)for the #Inktober2026 October 4 prompt of the word “Cactus”. This is the largest wren in the United States and is a bold, bulky nest builder of the southwestern U.S. desert cactus plants.

Along the trail today...The Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) butterfly. Gets its name for a silvery, comma-shaped mark on the hindwing underside (not visible in my picture). Their wings are deeply scalloped with ragged edges, placing them in a group known as "anglewings".

A sketch of a Miniature Scottish Highland Cow for the #Inktober2026 prompt for October 3rd of “Miniature.

For the #Inktober2026 October 2nd prompt of "draw something related to the word “Relic". Relics could be something of curio, like a skull. Since it is October and Halloween is at the end of the month, there may be some creepy of haunting drawings found here.