This enormous vulture, Rambling Raptor, is about to land and its emerald feathers are swirling with sprays of roses. Original artist Jos Haigh has even embellished the mount with flying feathers and twigs which makes this framed painting simply unique!

Jos Haigh’s mother’s pet crow inspired this painting. Jos was not sure whether to share this story about Pimpao, but then she thought, why not! Things were different in ‘the old days’.

Stuck in a traffic jam one day, she and her mum watched this lone crow strutting along a wall, his jet black feathers gleaming in the sunshine.  “Oh, he reminds me of my pet crow, Pimpao” says her mother. A pet crow? Surely not. By the way, those of you who are superstitious may be doing somersaults, or whatever, when you see single crows, because to some people a single crow brings bad luck. To others, it can mean you're going to have a fresh start in life. To Jos’s mum, it brought back wonderful memories of her pet crow when she was six years old.

So the story goes that her mum’s mother (yes, her grandmother) used to keep hens, and when she found some crows eggs, apparently abandoned, she placed them under a roosting chicken (NOT roasting chicken, steady!). One hatched into a baby crow, and he became her mum's pet. He spoke. Yes, yes, he did. Apparently they can be trained to ‘speak’. He would call out names in the same tone as mum’s mother and the neighbours would tell the children that they were wanted at home.

One day, Jos’s Mum came home from school and found her Pimpao missing. She searched everywhere. Unbeknownst to her, her elder sister, fed up of cleaning up Pimpao's mess, had thrown him into a dry unused well. Jos’s Mum searched and searched for hours and hours.  This miserable child then sat forlornly in the garden, chin in her hands, wondering what could have happened to her precious crow. Suddenly she heard a faint noise from the depths of the well, she jumped up and saw her wee bird among the debris, his wing broken. She somehow clambered down the well, rescued him, and nurtured him back to health. And he lived happily for a few more years.

Why is Jos telling you all this? Actually no reason, other than she has been also sitting, chin in her hands, wondering what can she say about birds.  Jet black glossy feathers is a common theme.

The delicate swirls and twirls of pattens on the feathers and branches, in intense colour is unusual and gives an added dimension to this dramatic painting. The artist has also carried out the embellishment on the mount with pokey branches and feathery feathers floating down. There is a lot that is extraordinary about this painting.

This painting will enliven your life, you know that. Have you ever been to Africa? Seen these vultures waiting with the utmost patience for the lions to have had their fill, so that they can pick at the carcasses.  It reminds wildlife artist Jos Haigh of the vultures in the trees in the Jungle Book, slightly bored, what shall we do, what shall we do? If you are slightly bored with your home decor, and you value originality, then this painting is for you.