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1850s Hand Colored Stone Lithographs of Birds of the West

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

This 1859 stone lithograph is of a pair of Black-tailed Gnatcatchers with close-ups of the heads and tail feathers. These birds, as their name suggests, feed on pesky little bugs in the desert. In the upper margin it says "U. S. P. R. R. Exp. & Surveys --- 35th Parallel" and "Birds. --- Plate XXXIII."

Apparently the 35th parallel survey was the first to ever come upon these little birds and describe them and these lithographs are the first publication of illustrations of these birds! The description of the bird in the reports, attached to the back of the backing board, says the bird was "First described from these specimens" and notes they were found along the Little Colorado River and again along the head waters of Bill Williams' Fork.

It comes matted in the same manner as the other birds in this series.

Price: SOLD

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