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Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of the Field Museum of Natural History

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Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of the Field Museum of Natural History University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in Ornithology Papers in the Biological Sciences 12-9-2008 Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of The Field Museum of Natural History Paul A. Johnsgard University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciornithology Part of the Art Practice Commons, Ornithology Commons, and the Zoology Commons Johnsgard, Paul A., "Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of The Field Museum of Natural History" (2008). Papers in Ornithology. 44. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciornithology/44 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Papers in the Biological Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in Ornithology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. University of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Papers in Ornithology Papers in the Biological Sciences 12-9-2008 Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of The ieldF Museum of Natural History Paul A. Johnsgard University of Nebraska - Lincoln, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciornithology Part of the Art Practice Commons, Ornithology Commons, and the Zoology Commons Johnsgard, Paul A., "Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinian Expedition of The ieF ld Museum of Natural History" (2008). Papers in Ornithology. 44. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/biosciornithology/44 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Papers in the Biological Sciences at DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. It has been accepted for inclusion in Papers in Ornithology by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln. Louis A. Fuertes and the Zoological Art of the 1926–1927 Abyssinan Expedition of The Field Museum of Natural History Paul A. Johnsgard School of Biological Sciences University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Lincoln, NE Dashed line shows approximate route of Fuertes while in Abyssinia (Ethiopia) Copyright © Paul A. Johnsgard, 2008. Preface th The year 2009 marked the 11O • anniversary of the first colored reproduction of a Fuertes painting; a watercolor of two seaside sparrows published in The Auk, when Fuertes was about 25 years old. Although Fuertes' life spanned little more than a half-century, and most living ornithologists were born after his tragic 1927 death, his influence on natural history art has not lessened. This manuscript is a testimony to his enduring artistic legacy. I first looked in awe at the original set of Fuertes paintings in the summer of 1995, during a visit to the Field Museum in conjunction with my research on North American hummingbirds and avian brood parasites. Like many other lovers of fine bird art, I had marveled at the Field Museum's 1932 album of Abyssinian plates, but the sight of all the additional, and especially the original, images was overwhelming. I inquired at the time about plans for possible publication of the entire collection, and was told that this was under consideration. Next, I was shown the Museum's set of baby bird portraits by George Sutton, and I immediately broached the possibility of publishing these in book form. That query met with favorable response from Benjamin W. Williams, Special Collections Librarian. This project flourished and during the spring of 1998 resulted in the publication of Baby Bird Portraits by George Miksch Sutton; Watercolors in the Field Museum. As soon as this book appeared I began wistfully thinking again of the Fuertes plates. Theil, in the summer of 1998 I made a formal suggestion to Mr. Williams that we consider producing a book containing all the bird paintings and their associated pencil sketches, with the text by me, and the hope that perhaps publication and descriptions of the mammal plates could be taken up by someone more qualified than I. I followed this up in September with a proposed outline for the book, and some preliminary text. I also visited the Field Museum during November, 1998, to examine the paintings and drawings closely, measure them, and discuss possible publication plans. At that time Mr. Williams and I agreed that the mammal plates needed inclusion, since there were too few to warrant a separate publication. I reviewed all the Fuertes drawings and watercolors, and photographed them for personal reference. I also selected out some preliminary pencil sketches and anatomical studies, and a few small watercolors of plant material that seemed too incomplete and data-deficient to warrant inclusion. The text length ofor each species description is diretly related to the number of plates done by Fuertes (roughly 300 word per plate). One problem in dealing with these plates is the fact that many of the English vernacular names, as well as the Latin names, associated with the species Fuertes illustrated have undergone changes since 1926, and produced to some problems in identification. There were also a few cases of inaccurate identification of the species illustrated. Thus, two appendices have been provided, respectively organized by original Latin names and by original vernacular names, to try deal with these confusing anomalies between my text and the names shown on the plates themselves or used in various publications. Avian taxonomy in this book follows Fry, Keith & Urban (1982-2004). Mammal taxonomy follows Kingdom (1997). There seems to be little agreement as to the proper spelling of Ethiopian place names, and I have modified some of those that were used by Fuertes and Osgood (1936) to conform with currently used spellings. This review could not have been written without the complete support of the Field Museum of Natural History, and especially its Special Collections Librarian, Benjamin Williams. After Mr. Williams left the Museum, the manuscript lay fallow for several years and I directed my attention toward other projects. Then, in May of 2008, Elizabeth 2 Babcock encountered a copy of my manuscript among older Museum files. She soon contacted me, and brought the project back to my attention. Later I contacted Dr. Paul Royster, Scholarly Communication director. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, about making the manuscript available on-line through the University's digital library (http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/). In preparing this book I have received assistance from several people. Ms. Linda Brown helped in the indexing and photographing of the plates, and provided a great deal of constructive advice and encouragement on my text. Advice on the identification of the unidentified insect painted by Fuertes was offered by Dr. Brett Ratcliffe of the Nebraska State Museum. 3 Contents Preface 2 Louis Agassiz Fuertes: His Art, and his Legacy. 4 Descriptive Accounts 12 Birds 1. Little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 12 2. White-backed night heron Goraschius leuconotus 13 3. Black-headed heron Ardea melmwcephala 14 4. Saddle-billed stork Epihippiorhynchus senegalensis 15 5. Wattled ibis Bostrychia carunculata 16 6. Sacred ibis Threskiornis a. aethiopica 17 7. Greater flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber roseus 18 8. Spur-winged goose Plectropterus g. gambensis 19 9. Cape teal Anas capensis 20 10. Yellow-billed duck Anas undulata rueppelli 21 11. Black-shouldered kite Elanus c. caeruleus 22 12. African swallow-tailed kite Chelictinia riocourii 23 13. Black kite Milvus migrans aegyptius 24 14. African fish eagle Haliaeetus vocifer (2 plates) 26 15. Lammergeier (Bearded Vulture) Gypaetus barbatus meridionalis (5 plates) 28 16. Egyptian vulture Neophron p. percnopterus 31 17. Hooded vulture Necrosyrtes monachus 32 18. African white-backed vulture Gyps ajricanus 33 19. Lappet-faced vulture Aegypius tracheliotis (2 plates) 34 20. White-headed vulture Aegypius occipitalis (2 plates) 36 21. Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus (4 plates) 38 22. African harrier hawk Polyboroides t. typus (2 plates) 41 23. Tawny eagle Aquila rapax raptor (3 plates) 43 24. Long-crested eagle Lophaetus occipitalis (2 plates) 45 25. Secretary bird Sagittarius serpentarius (2 plates) 47 26. Pygmy falcon Polihierax semitorquatus 49 27. Lannerfalcon Falco biarmicus abyssinicus 50 29. Helmeted guineafowl Numida meleagris 51 28. Clapperton's francolin Francolinus clappertoni 52 30. Common crane Grus g. grus 53 31. Kori bustard Ardeotis kori struthiunculus (2 plates) 54 32. Black-bellied bustard Eupodotis melanogaster 55 33. African jacana Actophilornis ajricana 56 34. Senegal thick-knee Burhinus sengalensis 57 35. African wattled lapwing Vanellus s. senegallus 58 36. Spur-winged lapwing Vanellus spinosus (1/2 plate) 59 37. Crowned lapwing Vanellus coronatus (1/2 plate) 60 38. Four-banded sandgrouse Pterocles quadricinctus 61 39. Bruce's green pigeon Treron waalia 62 40. Eastern gray plantain-eater Crinijer zonurus 63 4 41. White-cheeked turaco Tauraco leucotis donaldsoni (2 plates) 64 42. White-browed coucal Centropus s. superciliosus 66 43. Narina trogon Apaloderma n. narina 67 44. Gray-headed kingfisher Halcyon l. leucocephala 68 45. Pygmy kingfisher Ceyx p. picta 69 46. Malachite kingfisher Corythornis c. cristata 70 47. European hoopoe Upupa e. epops 71 48. Abyssinian ground hornbill Bucorvus abyssinicus 72 49. Red-billed ("Hemprich's") hornbill Tockus erythrorhynchus 73 50. Silvery-cheeked hornbill Ceratogymna brevis (2 plates) 74 51. Double-toothed barbet Lybius bidentatus aequatorialis 76 52. Black-throated wattle-eye Platysteira cyanea aethiopica 77 53. White helmet-shrike Prionops plumatus concinnata 78 54. Thick-billed raven Corvus crassirostris 79 55. Cape rook Corvus capensis kordofanensis 80 56. Red-billed oxpecker Buphagus e. erythrorhynchus 81 Mammals 1. Guereza colobus Colobus guereza abyssinicus (7 plates) 82 2. Olive baboon Papio anubis (2 plates) 85 3. Gelada Theropithecus gelada (6 plates) 87 4. Grivet monkey Cercopithecus aethiops 89 5. Velvet rat Colomys goslingi 90 6. Abyssinian root-rat Tachyoryctes splendens 91 7. Slender mongoose Herpestes sanguinea 92 8.
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