Rondine Hirundo rustica, Linn. Specie LXXII.

Title

Rondine Hirundo rustica, Linn. Specie LXXII.

Description

Very beautiful depiction of barn swallows, also known as house martins (Hirundo rustica, lat.). Drawn from nature by Alberto Manzella and finely watercoloured by himself. Executed in Florence between 1879 and 1906, from the monumental work by the professor of zoology and comparative anatomy Enrico Hillyer Giglioli (born London 1845 - died Florence 1909), ‘Iconography of the Italic Avifauna’.

ca. 1879

Artist

Prato

Historical Description

Birds (Aves) are a group of vertebrates. Like all terrestrial vertebrates (Tetrapoda), birds have two pairs of extremities, the front ones of which are transformed into wings. Plumage plays a major role in the overall appearance of birds: the body is covered in feathers. Most birds are able to fly. All flightless species have evolved from species that were originally able to fly. This applies, for example, to ratites, penguins and many island forms, such as the kiwi (New Zealand) and the stubby cormorant (Galapagos Islands). It is generally undisputed that birds come from the evolutionary line of reptiles. Crocodiles are considered to be their closest living relatives. Together, crocodiles and birds form the diapsid subgroup of the Archosauria.