DESCRIPTION: This is an antique engraving titled "Generic Characters of Birds" from a series published August 1829. The print specifically illustrates the Order Passeres, commonly known as true songbirds and making up more than half of all known bird species globally. They feature a highly specialized vocal apparatus that allows for complex, learned melodies. The collection here focuses on Fissirostres (from Latin fissus, meaning "cleft" or "split," and rostrum, meaning "bill" or "beak"), an obsolete, historical taxonomic group used in older ornithology to classify birds with extremely wide, deeply cleft, and flattened beaks. This morphological trait allowed them to catch flying insects mid-air. Also Conirostres, also obsolete, indicating a group of perching birds. There are twelve detailed side-profile studies of bird heads labeled with numbers to show diverse beak adaptations. The publication information at the bottom indicates it was published by Whittaker & Co. in Ave Maria Lane, London. Click here for our blog post listing all twelve species shown. See also #5818
STYLE:Engraving
COLOUR: Monochrome
SIZE (IN.): 12.25 x 22
CREATORS:
PUBLICATION: 
PUBLISHER: London: Whittaker & Co
DATE: 1829
COMMENTS: Excellent condition with patina of antiquity. A gem in our collection.
SUBJECT: Animals & Nature
PACKAGE: Single one-sided sheet  in acid-free mount, flat & unfolded inside hard-backed envelope. Royal Mail Tracked 24 included.