The 'Lost Birds Series' (2006/7)

For the moment, it is this--the 'Lost birds series' (2006/7) that I will use as a basis of my presentation in October. Pamela has lent me seven of the series of eight (the eighth is in a private collection).
These are relatively small quilts, each approximately 19.5 cm x 19.5 cm and of plant-dyed and commercial silk, hand and machine stitched and backed with silk.
These are unusual works for Pamela for a number of reasons I intend to explore, yet they are instantly recognisable as her work. I find them extraordinarily beautiful, yet need time to understand why.
For now, I identify a sense of 'wonder' while acknowledging the process of analysis ('wondering') which will necessarily follow.
The repeating image, a silhouette of a cockatoo (the 'lost' bird in question) references a water colour by the early colonial artist, George Raper. The original painting is of a black cockatoo but I need to confirm which species of black cockatoo and also details of the original painting.