Bird sketch tipped to have bidders aflutter

A rare drawing of kiwi birds by British naturalist John Gould is expected to attract international interest when it goes on auction in Adelaide today.

Gould became well-known in the 19th Century for his lithographs of birds and other animals.

His most famous work was The Birds of Australia.

A South Australian collector bought the sketch for 100 pounds in London in the 1970s - just beating David Attenborough to the find.

Elder Fine Art Galleries director Jim Elder has estimated the value of Gould's drawing at $1,200 but says it could get bids in excess of $100,000.

"In actual fact, this is a work that is the working drawings for an image that is in that comprehensive book of his work, Birds of Australia and it is extremely rare," he said.

"What's special about it is that there are very, very few working drawings of Gould's in existence, mainly because all his sketch books have never been found."