“So… Does it mean us or not?”. Three Black-eared Miner birds hit the town.

While I threw together a little obscure bit of bird humor here, the plight of the Black-eared Miner is anything but humorous. The Australian species until recently had not been protected because it was believed to be a variant of the very common Yellow-throated Miner. DNA tests have proved it to be an entirely different species and on the brink of extinction. Their current population is scattered throughout the Murray Mallee region of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales is believed to be less than 250 birds total.. Their survival is linked to the health of the Australian forest requiring large blocks of long unburnt and uncleared (for at least 50 years) 5-8 meter tall mallee, with an understory of small bushes, shrubs and chenopods. The Australian government currently has a plan in place to protect the Black-eared Miner.

This piece was created in Poser Professional using the artist’s 3D digital bird models from his Songbird Remix collection