Passenger Pigeon (Columba migratoria).
Image 25 of 29
Frontispiece reproduction of a painting by Louis Agassiz Fuertes. In: W. B. Mershon’s The Passenger Pigeon (New York, 1907).
Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927), named after the great Harvard zoologist and geologist Louis Agassiz, began his study of birds and painting as a young boy. Celebrated as a “modern Audubon,” he made thousands of bird paintings for ornithological studies as well as for private patrons. His paintings, like this image of a male and female passenger pigeon, were praised for lifelike poses and precise detail. Most likely studied from preserved specimens, Fuertes’ pigeon pair captures well the vivid coloring of the birds that were popularly called “blue meteors” for their swift flight.