WILD COCKATOOS

Just look at what beautiful creatures nature has given us.

Give them a sweet thought.

photo by 

Leila Jeffrey.

"As a child I was always enamoured with animals, I saw them as 'people' which is how I formed a relationship with them from a very young age. As I've grown, I've watched the human population explode worldwide so I wanted to remind us all about the 'little people' that also share the planet. Like us they search for food and shelter, they form relationships, they raise offsprings, they defend their territory, they play and they sing. They are magnificent creatures that enrich our lives if you stop to notice them and I believe it's our responsibility to

ensure they will always have a home in the wild.

Australia is a continent of Cockatoos, a bird species with many beautiful physical variations, they are all full of character and playfulness and are extremely intelligent birds. I want to celebrate them because they are gorgeous. I photograph them in a traditional studio portraiture setting and take photos that focuses on capturing their characters, not just their beauty. I print the artworks at over a metre tall so that they can be viewed from a human perspective.

The project took me two years to complete as it was hard to get access to wild cockatoos. I worked with wildlife rescue groups, wildlife parks, zoos and private breeders that are all passionate about conservation."

- Leila Jeffrey

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