Anna Scott, Portrait of a Kōkako

Portrait of a Kōkako

By Anna Scott

Portrait of a Kōkako is part of Anna Scott’s distinctive 800mm round portrait series, an ongoing body of work capturing intimate, head-focused encounters with Aotearoa’s native birds. Created in pencil on natural ply and sealed for longevity, each portrait in the series offers a moment of stillness and connection—much like the instinctive pause we make when a bird’s call catches our attention.

This young kōkako sits proud and alert, its gentle confidence echoing the quiet resurgence of the species itself. Once critically endangered, kōkako populations are slowly being restored through dedicated conservation efforts, returning these hauntingly beautiful songbirds to the forests they once filled with their distinctive, bell-like calls.

By focusing on the bird’s face and expression, Anna honours both its vulnerability and its strength. The subtle textures and soft tonal shifts of pencil on ply mirror the kōkako’s understated beauty—its velvety feathers, its thoughtful gaze, and the iconic blue wattles that mark its identity.

Within this series, each portrait becomes more than a depiction; it becomes a reminder of our role as kaitiaki. Portrait of a Kōkako invites viewers to pause, appreciate the species’ fragile return, and reflect on how we care for the ecosystems that make such recovery possible.

Media: Pencil on ply (sealed)
Dimensions: 800 mm diameter
Series: Portraits of a Bird
Artist: Anna Scott – Taranaki, Aotearoa