Hummingbird Illustration by Ernst Haeckel Paper Plates

At the turn of the 20th century, Ernst Haeckel was an eminent German biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor, and artist. He discovered, described, and named thousands of new species, mapped a genealogical tree relating all life forms, and coined many terms in biology, including anthropogeny, ecology, phylum, phylogeny, and stem cell. This illustration is from his 1904 book "Kunstformen der Natur" (Art Forms In Nature). It is of several varieties of Trochilidae (hummingbird), specifically: Trochilus colubris; Heliactinus cornutus; Topazella pella; Lophornis ornata; Sparganura sappho; Docimastes ensifer; Eutoxic condamini; Lophornis gouldii; Ornismya petasphora; Augastes lumachellus; Hylocharis stokesii; and Steganura underwoodii . For more items adorned by Ernst Haeckel illustrations, see my Collection , "Ernst Haeckel Illustrations."