Jabiru Dreaming

Pastel on Mi Tientes Tex ($POA)

41 cm W x 51 cm H
The Black-necked Stork (formerly referred to as the Jabiru) (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticusis) is Australia’s only native stork, with numbers at approximately 10,000 birds. They are threatened by habitat destruction, the draining of shallow wetlands, disturbance at nests, overfishing, pollution, collision with electricity wires and hunting. Several breeding pairs have recently been spotted as far south as the northern river areas of NSW, the Bundjalung area where I live. My father-in-law loves these birds and asked me to paint him one. Their black-neck name is misleading, as although their bodies are black and white, their necks shine a radiant glossy dark green and purple in the sunlight. They have a massive black bill and striking long coral-red legs. The males have black eyes whilst the female’s eye is yellow. This fellow is obviously a male and was hunting in the shallow waters of Chickiba Lake in Ballina, NSW.