Calothorax pulchra (Bahama Woodstar).

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 Bahama Woodstar is a delicate and graceful species, native to the islands of the Bahamas, where it inhabits gardens and coastal thickets. In Gould’s hand-colored lithograph, the bird is shown with its violet-pink gorget, green upper plumage, and buff underparts, captured in lifelike detail as it hovers among tropical flowers. The use of iridescent pigment conveys the luminous brilliance of its throat feathers, while the surrounding flora adds depth and movement to the composition, emphasizing the Woodstar’s elegance in flight.

John Gould’s Monograph of the Trochilidae remains the most ambitious and visually enchanting work devoted to the hummingbird family. Produced over nearly forty years, it combined Gould’s scientific study with the refined artistry of Henry Constantine Richter and William Hart. The Bahama Woodstar plate exemplifies their shared mastery of observation and design, uniting precise natural history with the aesthetic richness that defines the golden age of ornithological illustration.