Warblers and Honeycreepers on Acacia, Brazilian Bird Print, Descourtilz, 1944

Warblers and honeycreepers print after Descourtilz, Estampa 42 in the 1944 Ornitologia Brasileira, a limited Brazilian edition of Jean-Théodore Descourtilz's bird paintings, printed in color by offset.

Five small birds occupy the feathery, finely divided leaves of an acacia, its thorny stem and small round seed pods rendered with careful botanical accuracy. At the top, a bird with an orange-brown head, a yellow body and blue-gray wings perches near the tip of a branch. Below and to the left, a second bird, pale gray-blue with a chestnut cap, hangs from a leaflet. To the right, a third bird shows a black head and back over a yellow belly, its wing blue-black. At the center, a fourth and mostly yellow bird with a black head perches lower on the stem. At the bottom right, a fifth bird, gray-green with a small red cap, hangs beneath a curved section of the branch. The acacia's fine, feathery foliage fills most of the plate, its small pale seed pods visible at lower left.

Livraria Kosmos Editora published the Ornitologia Brasileira ou História Natural das Aves do Brasil, notáveis por sua plumagem, canto e hábitos in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in 1944. This first Portuguese edition, translated by Eurico Santos from the French original of the 1850s, was limited to 1,315 copies (1,000 plus 315 numbered). All 48 plates are color offset prints of Descourtilz's paintings of Brazilian birds, each captioned "Estampa" with its number on a toned card within a printed green ornamental border.

Jean-Théodore Descourtilz (circa 1796 to 1855) was a French painter and naturalist who traveled to Brazil in the late 1820s and devoted himself to painting its birds; his first work on the birds of Brazil appeared in 1834.

Strong in color and suitable for framing, this warblers and honeycreepers print after Descourtilz would make a handsome addition to a collection of ornithology prints or a colorful focal point for a library or garden room.

This plate is in good condition for its age. The mount shows ordinary age toning, with a few small spots and light wear to the edges; the image itself is clean. Please review the images for further condition details.