The mysterious Rawnsley's bowerbird has been officially sighted only four times in the history of European settlement in Australia.
So says wildlife artist James Hough, of Bolwarra Heights in Maitland.
The bird is believed to be a hybrid of the satin and regent bowerbirds, which was originally thought to be impossible.
"They did have a skin specimen of it in the Australian Museum, but it somehow got lost. They could have used the skin for DNA purposes to ascertain its genetics and whether it has the genes of the satin and regent bowerbirds," he said.
"There was some early speculation that it was its own species."
James, considered one of the world's best wildlife artists, painted the bird from photos taken by Queensland wildlife photographer Trevor Anderson.
Trevor photographed the rare creature last year in south-east Queensland. He reportedly staked out an area for 10 days to catch a glimpse of the elusive bird.
Trevor sent the photos to James, who used them as reference for his painting.
"I was so thrilled to compose and paint this one," James said.
James's artwork is part of an art exhibition at Morpeth Gallery that opened on Thursday.
It's his first solo exhibition.
Fifty-five of his paintings were on sale, ranging in price from $1200 to $15,000. More than 30 have already sold, including the Rawnsley's bowerbird artwork.
Australian Geographic launched its 2021 calendar at the exhibition opening on Wednesday night. It includes 12 of James's original paintings - one for each month.
The free exhibition runs until August 30. The gallery opens from Thursday to Sunday.
In The Picture
In the late 1970s, Andrew Whitbread-Brown visited Taree council chambers with his father and found a photo of his great grandfather, Stephen Whitbread, who was town clerk for 45 years.
"The photo was, from memory, on a wall in the stairwell. It is dated 1928," said Andrew, of Cardiff Heights.
Last week, Andrew was in Taree and went to see if the photo was at Mid Coast Council [formerly Taree council]. It wasn't.
"The lovely council staff did some searching and a week later found the photo at Taree Library," he said.
More than 40 years after Andrew first saw the picture, the library sent him a copy.
"I always remembered this photo from my teens and always wanted to see it again, but never quite got back to Taree."
Non-Viral Jokes
During the pandemic, a middle-aged man washed his hands so much, he found the answers to a maths test he took in Year 11.
Junior sport is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.
The same bike has tried to run me over three times now. It's a vicious cycle.
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