Bird plate. White-tailed eagle. Halioeetus albicilla (Sav.).

London, the author, ca. 1835. Folio (37.5 x 27.6 cm). Well preserved hand-painted engraving of two specimens of a now extinct bird. = The white-tailed eagle is a very large species of sea eagle, occurring across northern Eurasia, Greenland and Japan. Dutch-born British ornithologist Henri Leonhard Meyer (1797-1865), author and illustrator of one of the best books on British birds, Illustrations of British Birds (London, Longman, 1835-1850) (see, e.g., Hale), painted these fierce raptors in their natural habitat. Currently, its scientific name is Haliaeetus albicella (L.). Meyer's "Sav" refers to the French explorer and zoolologist Savigny, who introduced the genus Haliaeethus. This print is in excellent condition. Some light, marginal spotting and toning, away from the images. No creases, dents or tears present. Anker, p. 58; Hale, W. G. (2007) The Meyer's Illustrations of British Birds; Hale, W. G. (2012) The Meyer's Coloured Illustrations of British Birds and their Eggs and the Finishing of the Folio 1842-1847; C. E. Jackson, Bird illustrators, pp. 59-62; Nissen IVB, 628; Wood, p. 462.