The Unfeathered Bird
Katrina van Grouw (formerly Katrina Cook)
The Unfeathered Bird is due for publication by Princeton University Press in 2012
Update August 2011 - There are many, many more illustrations for The Unfeathered Bird that are not shown here. I'm really sorry not to be more up to date - I've been working so hard on the book that I've had no time to keep the website updated. However, do please feel free to contact me if you can't find what you're looking for, and I'll e-mail thumbnails of the required images to you.
A collection of over 300 fine anatomical drawings reflecting the diversity of bird forms. The skull of a Shoebill, skeleton of a Hoatzin, and the remarkable coiled windpipe of Birds of Paradise are just a few of the exotic gems to be found amongst more familiar birds; but birds as you’ve never seen them before. The majority of these drawings represent birds in living postures: flying, sleeping, feeding and displaying. As well as a representative selection from the 10,000 or so wild species, the book also covers domestic variations achieved by selective breeding, including many of the pigeon varieties kept by Charles Darwin which were so important to his theory of Natural Selection.
The book is arranged according to an 18th Century taxonomy based around simple anatomical features, and has something of the classical flavour of the illustrated natural history works of the past. Its impact is primarily visual, and the concise, accompanying texts are aimed at the layman and free from scientific jargon.
It is a must for anyone with more than a passing interest in birds, bones or both; those with an appreciation of beautiful artwork; and for artists themselves.
The artist/author has a Masters Degree from the Royal College of Art, London, and spent seven years as a curator of the bird collections at The Natural History Museum.