Rough-Legged Buzzard
1832
Ferdinand von Wright captures the intense gaze and intricate plumage of this Rough-Legged Buzzard with the precision of a scientist and the eye of an artist. The text at the bottom reveals a grim but common practice of the time: this specific bird was 'shot at Haminanlahti in the autumn of 1832' to serve as a model for the illustration. It stands as a beautiful record of 19th-century natural history, documenting species like the Falco lagopus before modern photography took over the field.
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