Attractive black and white copperplate engraving entitled Le Houtou ou Momot, published in Paris in the year 1780. 

Species of Le Houtou ou Momot birds is native to the high Andes of South America. Now called the Andean Motmot, the houtou thrives in the cool, thin air of the Andean highlands. It is considered a type of cuckoo by bird-watchers.

Artist: Comte de Buffon

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) was a highly influential French naturalist who wrote the important work Histoire Naturelle which was the most complete work on natural history up until that time. Comte de Buffon was an influence on later important scientists including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier. Comte de Buffon is considered the “father of all thought in natural history in the second half of the 18th century” by historians.

Histoire Naturelle by Comte de Buffon was published in 1780 in 36 volumes and continued to be improved upon after the author’s death. The massive work was a complete overview and record of the natural sciences up until the late 18th century, including physics, chemistry, technology, and biology. It is considered an early form of the encyclopedia.