Mostly known for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose, Edward Lear (1812–1888) was an English artist, author and poet. Enjoy some of his wonderful parrot paintings, from Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots (1832), containing 42 large-format ornithological illustrations, published before he was 20 years old. The volume is remarkable for its folio size and for content focused on a single family of birds. Edward Lear painted live parrots at the London Zoo and some in private collections. Click the (large) images for beautifully detailed feathers.
Macrocercus aracanga. Red and yellow maccaw.
Macrocercus ararauna. Blue and yellow maccaw.
Macrocercus hyacinthinus. Hyacinthine maccaw.
Palæornis columboides. Pigeon parrakeet.
Palæornis cucullatus. Hooded parrakeet.
Palæornis melanura. Black-tailed parrakeet.
Palæornis novæ-hollandiæ. New Holland parrakeet.
Platycercus barnardi. Barnard's parrakeet.
Platycercus brownii. Brown's parrakeet.
Platycercus erythropterus. Crimson-winged parrakeet.
Platycercus pileatus. Red-capped parrakeet.
Platycercus stanleyii. Stanley parrakeet.
Platycercus unicolor. Uniform parrakeet.
Psittacara leptorhyncha. Long-billed parrakeet-maccaw.
Psittacara patagonica. Patagonian parrakeet-maccaw.
Psittacula kuhlii. Kuhl's parrakeet.
Trichoglossus matoni. Maton's parrakeet.
