Humming-Birds

This site is a faithful reproduction and restoration of John Gould’s A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Family of Humming-Birds, a magnificent work of ornithological art and science that was published in six volumes between 1848 and 1887. A Monograph of the Trochilidæ, or Family of Humming-Birds is a monumental work by John Gould, the English ornithologist, that depicts and describes all the known species of hummingbirds at the time. It consists of 5 volumes, each containing 360 hand-colored lithographic plates, that were published between 1849 and 1861. A supplementary volume by R. B. Sharpe was published in 5 parts between 1880 and 1887 after Gould’s death with an additional 58 plates and many descriptions written by Gould before his death. The plates were drawn and lithographed by Gould and his assistant Henry Constantine Richter, and printed by Hullmandel & Walton, and also by Walter & Cohn. Posters showcase 422 species with their names for easy identification. Hummingbirds and their names were individually arranged by hand in a murmuration