Szabolcs Kókay

Upstream of Science: The Role of Bird Art in Understanding — An Interview with Szabolcs Kókay How wildlife art and illustrations shape memory, education, and the foundations of ornithology — an interview with wildlife artist, Szabolcs Kókay.

There is an interview with me on the online magazine, The Ornithologist. Huge thanks to my friend, György Szimuly for the opportunity! You need to sign up to read it.
Upstream of Science: The Role of Bird Art in Understanding — An Interview with Szabolcs Kókay theornithologist.org/upstream-of-...

Back to work: just finished this watercolour of Glaucous-winged Gulls from Egg Islands, near Cordova in Alaska. We've visited this place last May, during our Artists for Nature Foundation & Native Conservancy project. You can see our boat approaching from the left.

After my visit to the bird collection in New York, I had the fantastic chance to visit fellow nature artist, James Coe. We know each other for 20 years (Jim was a great help when I changed from acrylics to oils), but we have never met in person. We had a lovely day with some other local artists.

I've spent a productive week in the World's biggest bird collection, in New York's American Museum of Natural History. Here are some specimen sketches I did there (Blue Bird-of-paradise, and Jewel-Babblers). It was very tough to overlook the Central Park full of birds, while staying indoors.

The first painting of 2026: Trumpeter Swans from last May in Cordova, Alaska, during our Artists for Nature Foundation/Native Conservancy project. Watercolour on paper.

Very kind of you! Thank you very much!!

Thank you so much for your kind words!! I'm also on Instagram (artkokay) and Facebook (wildlife art of Szabolcs Kókay).

I would like to thank you all for your support and interest in my art this year! This montage represents some of the work I've produced during 2025. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

My webshop is under development, so I deal with orders manually. Send me a messae if you are interested!

Felis silvestris, Myotis bechsteinii, Ficedula parva, Dendrocopos leucotos, Strix uralensis, Lynx, lynx, Osmoderma eremita, Ciconia nigra, Rhinolophus ferrumequineum, Canis lupus, Limenitis populi, Aquila pomarina.

In Hungary we only have fragments of old forests, but current legislation allows forestry work even in the strictly protected ones. I need to spend more time in them, while I still can. Here are some strictly protected species that depend on these places (list in the comments).

My Christmas print sale is running only for 3 more weeks! You get 20 % discount on the lmited edition giclée prints of these paintings!

Thank you so much, Andrés! It's very kind of you!!

Spotted Sandpiper, watercolour on paper. Inspired during my Artists for Nature Foundation & Native Conservancy trip to Alaska this May. We had some Yellow-eyed Snapper for dinner, the remnants were left by the lake, mainly for Bald Eagles, but these sandpipers also came for the smaller bits.

The 25th Goose Festival will be held in Tata town this weekend. This town is famous for the big flocks of geese roosting on its lake (50000 right now). I'll be there with a stand, and will have talks about my work. This is a watercolour of some geese landing, with the Tata castle in the background.

The limited edition giclée prints have arrived!

Thank you very much for your kind words!! It's fantastic to get such comments on my work!

Spotted Sandpipers by the Cooper-river in Alaska. Watercolour on paper. These remains of a pier belonged to a salmon canning farm. #watercolour #birdart #natureart #wildlifeart #sandpiper #alaska

A recent commission: 1st winter Ross's Gull (watercolour on paper). I would really love to see this species! #gull #birdart #natureart #wildlifeart #watercolour

Eurasian Thick-knee has always been a favourite subject for me. Here is a selection of my field sketches from the past (2006, 2014, 2016). #birdart #natureart #fieldsketch #wildlifeart #watercolour #thickknee

Thick-knee's population is down to 20 pairs in Hungary! I took the opportunity to check a flock of 35 birds on Friday. I could test a travelling brushset by the Spanish Escoda company. They were fantastic! Thank you for the gift: 'Úristen! Festek!" (My God! I'm painting!) (muveszellato-bolt.hu)!

And the last 2 paintings avialble on giclée prints: Peregrine Falcon studies and a hunting European Roller. #peregrine #falcon #falconart #birdart #natureart #wildlifeart #artprint

These 2 goose paintings are avilable on giclée prints. Both of them show 3 species. Greater and Lesser White-fronts and Red-breasted Geese. They are about to arrive to Hungary these days! #birdart #natureart #artprint #wildlifeart

8 bird of paradise paintings available on giclée prints: Vogelkop Lophorina, Lawes's Parotia, Blue BoP, Raggiana BoP, Brown Sicklebill, Stephanie's Astrapia, Magnificent BoP. #birdofparadise #birdart #natureart #artprint #wildlifeart

4 passerine watercolours: Gurney's Pitta, Ortolan Bunting (from the cover of the European Breeding Bird Atlas 2), and 2 Long-tailed Tits. All available on giclée prints. #gurneyspitta #ortolan #longtailedtit #natureart #birdart #artprint #watercolour #wildlifeart #giclée

4 mammal paintings available on prints: 3 Grey Wolves, inspired by an art project in Slovenia (I had an encounter shown on the first painting). My first ever European Wildcat inspired the last painting: found the remains of that woodpecker after seeing the cat, so I've imagined the hunting scene.

Hungary has the 2nd biggest Great Bustard population in Europe. There are a lot of people whose hard work secure their numbers. 2 prints are available: a study on the left, based on my observations during the covid period. The right one is a watercolour showing their intense mating behaviour.

Slender-billed Curlew has officially been declared extinct yesterday. I will treasure all these artworks from fellow artists even more, as a tribute to this bird! Anyone who has a sketch, pencil drawing, etc. of this species laying around, I'm interested to make a swap!

2 more shorebird paintings: a Spoon-billed watercolour study, based on my sightings in China in 2013. 2nd is an oil, titled 'We are all young' of various shorebirds observed in Hungary. I won the Swarovski/Birdwatch Artist of the Year prize with this in 2008. Both are available as giclée prints.

My all time favourite bird: the Slender-billed Curlew, that has recently declared to be extinct. The 1st is a watercolour, titled 'A new hope'. The 2nd is an oil, titled 'Alone', based on the exact habitat, where my friends observed a bird in 2001. Both paintings are available as giclée prints.