Grypus spixi (Saw-billed Hermit).

From A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Humming-Birds, 6 vols., large folio. Published in London, 1849–1887. Printed by Hullmandel and Walter from drawings by J. Gould, H. C. Richter, and William Hart, lithographed by the artists.

The Saw-billed Hermit is a distinctive South American hummingbird, notable for the fine serrations along the edges of its slender, decurved bill—an adaptation thought to aid in feeding. Its plumage is composed of rich olive-brown and bronze-green tones, subtly iridescent under changing light. In Gould’s hand-colored lithograph, the bird is shown feeding from a drooping flower, its posture and curved bill beautifully balanced within the surrounding tropical foliage. The careful use of metallic pigment gives depth and life to the feathers, revealing the subdued elegance that defines the hermit group.

John Gould’s Monograph of the Trochilidae remains one of the crowning achievements of Victorian natural history illustration. Created over nearly four decades, the series combined Gould’s field expertise with the artistry of Henry Constantine Richter and William Hart. The Saw-billed Hermit plate exemplifies the series’ union of accuracy and refinement, transforming an elusive forest species into a work of scientific and aesthetic brilliance that endures among the masterpieces of nineteenth-century ornithology.