Help with signature on large pastel(?) bird

I saw this today at the thrift & had to buy it!
I believe it's a pastel? And has almost a frame within a frame (the masking tape is old & dried out; it doesn't stick too well so I was able to open back easy).
Any idea of artists name? I see VANKA(?) 1990 NY ?
I appreciate any help with the artist and also thoughts on the pieces itself?
Thank you!
It doesn't look big - especially from the back - but it measures 31" x 37"!

 

The internet says it's a Great Blue Heron.

Debora

 

It looks like something in the heron family, but not like a great blue heron.

 

Oh, no! Does that mean I can't trust everything I read on the internet? (Rhetorical.)

Ladies and Gentlemen... I present the Great Blue Heron.

Debora

 

An egret with the plumes they have when courting.

 

https://animalia-life.club/qa/pictures/little-egret-breeding-plumage

 

I was just going to tell Debora that my guy was getting ready to go courting!

 

Is that a guess from signature or is she a known artist??

 

In the late 19th - early 20th century egret feathers were in great demand for women's hats (along with other bird species). The fashion led to some of the first legislation protecting wildlife.

 

pretty good, I sae it once you said it!

 

I like it. I have a heron watercolor, talented amateur, on my living room wall. They show up here sometimes.

 

Isn't the 1st letter an M?

Marika?

 

That is how I came to recognize egrets. When I saw those feathered hats I wanted to know which bird they came from.

 

This guy was hanging around the sea creature pool waiting for lunch at the San Diego Zoo. Such beautiful birds to paint