Discura longicauda (Racket-tipped Thorntail).

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 Racket-tipped Thorntail is one of the most elegant of Gould’s hummingbirds, easily identified by its long, slender tail ending in beautifully rounded disks. Its plumage shimmers in hues of emerald and bronze, with a soft white breast and elongated streamers that trail gracefully in flight. In Gould’s hand-colored lithograph, the bird is depicted hovering near delicate blossoms, the intricate composition heightened by the use of metallic pigments that recreate the living brilliance of its feathers. The image captures both the fragility and agility of this exquisite species.

John Gould’s Monograph of the Trochilidae remains a masterpiece of nineteenth-century natural history art. Produced over nearly forty years, it combined Gould’s dedication as a naturalist with the refined skill of artists Henry Constantine Richter and William Hart. The Racket-tipped Thorntail plate exemplifies their shared achievement—uniting scientific precision with visual splendor to immortalize one of the most graceful members of the hummingbird family.