Pavo Nigripennis - Black Shouldered Pea Fowl

These two ornithological prints show birds with blue plumage: a western swamphen and a black- shouldered peafowl. The prints by Gould and Elliot—two of the most famous bird artists of the nineteenth century—were hand-colored to give an impression of vivid lifelikeness, and are scientifically accurate as well as artistically captivating. Both men were eminent natural historians and based their studies on direct observation, traveling extensively throughout the world in preparation for their respective publications.