Cinnyris coquerellii [Mayotte Sun-bird]

Description

original hand-colour lithograph, with accompanying text.

Exquisite print from Captain George Ernest Shelley’s landmark work A Monograph of the Nectariniidae or
Family of Sun-Birds. It features the Mayotte Sunbird (Cinnyris coquerellii). Endemic strictly to the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte in the Comoros archipelago, this species is noted for the striking iridescence of the male’s plumage set against contrasting underparts. Today, the species remains extant and relatively common across Mayotte, inhabiting tropical moist lowland forests, mangroves, and dense coastal thickets, as well as degraded forest edge and agricultural areas. Illustrated by the renowned natural history artist John Gerard Keulemans, whose field observations of sunbirds in their native habitats brought exceptional fidelity and botanical detail to each plate, this artwork exemplifies the high production standards of 19th century ornithology. Issued as part of a highly exclusive edition limited to just 250 copies, surviving plates from this monumental monograph’s first edition remain exceptionally scarce and sought after by natural history collectors today.