Eurasian Wigeon — engraving

"Eurasian Wigeon".

Technique, Material: Chromolithograph / Paper
Artist: Archibald Thorburn,  Engraver: 
Date, Publisher: Lith. Highest Approved Partnership of I. N. Kushnerev and Co., Moscow.
Size: 25,5x16 cm.

The Eurasian Wigeon (Latin: Anas penelope, Linn.) is one of the most beautiful species of large dabbling ducks, slightly smaller than the mallard . The Latin name Anas penelope was given to the bird by the great Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) in 1758 in the 10th edition of his famous "Systema Naturae," the starting point of modern zoological nomenclature . The English name "Wigeon" (and the Russian "svyaz" or "svishch") derives from its characteristic whistling call, which resembles a melodic whistle accompanied by typical duck quacking.

The male in breeding plumage has a very distinctive appearance: a reddish-chestnut head and neck, with a creamy-white forehead and crown. The upper body is smoky-grey with frequent wavy black transverse bars. The upper breast is chocolate-colored, while the rest of the underparts are white, except for the black undertail . The wings feature a white patch in front of a metallic green speculum bordered in black. The female is mottled in greyish-brown and reddish tones with dark streaks.

The Eurasian Wigeon breeds across the northern half of Eurasia, mainly in the forest zone. In European Russia, its breeding range extends southward along rivers and lakes, covering parts of central Russia. It prefers the shores of water bodies overgrown with trees and shrubs, meadows, and sedge marshes. It winters on sea coasts and in river valleys of Western and Southern Europe, North Africa, and Southern Asia . It feeds on vegetative parts and seeds of aquatic and terrestrial plants, as well as insects. The meat of the Eurasian Wigeon is valued more highly than that of the mallard.

The scale 2/5 is indicated on the sheet. In this series of ornithological chromolithographs, this fraction denotes the ratio of the depicted size to the bird's actual size. This means the bird in the illustration is shown at a scale of two-fifths (2:5) of its natural size.

The Artist
The drawing for this chromolithograph was created by the eminent British animal painter Archibald Thorburn (1860–1935), recognized as a classic master of ornithological illustration. The son of a miniature painter to Queen Victoria, Thorburn developed his unique style combining scientific accuracy with artistic expressiveness and meticulously rendered natural backgrounds . He gained worldwide fame for his numerous watercolors for monumental ornithological works, including illustrations for books on European birds.

The Publisher
This lithograph was printed by the printing house of the I. N. Kushnerev and Co. Partnership in Moscow. The enterprise was founded in 1869 by Ivan Nikolayevich Kushnerev as "I. N. Kushnerev's Quick Printing House" and became a joint-stock partnership in 1888. The Partnership's status as "Highest Approved" meant its charter had been personally approved by the Emperor — a mark of exceptional trust and supreme quality. The printing house was renowned for its first-class execution of books, scientific works, and multi-colored chromolithographs. In 1900–1902, M. A. Menzbir's fundamental work "Hunting and Game Birds of European Russia and the Caucasus" was printed here, for which Thorburn created a significant portion of the original drawings. After the 1917 revolution, the enterprise was nationalized, and in 1922 it was renamed "Krasny Proletary".