#townsend's solitaire

Taxidermy birds

A Linocut Feathursday

This week we bring you more linocut renderings by Spokane, Washington printer and printmaker W. Gale Mueller (1927-2018) from his Forty Years of Birds ‘n Blocks, printed from the original blocks at his Millstone Press in 2009 in an edition of 53 copies. From 1969 to 2009, Mueller and his wife Bonnie sent holiday cards with Gale’s original bird prints using several relief print processes. Today we show a handful of linocut prints from 1975-1990. For those who want to know more about these birds, here you go:

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)

Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi)

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

Our copy of this book is a gift from our friend Tony Drehfal.

Happy Feathursday!

View another post from this book.

A Townsend's Solitaire settles into a high perch on a spruce tree, floofing their feathers against the early fall wind.

Photo: Grigory Heaton

"Solitaires are slim, long-tailed thrushes that perch upright in trees. As the name suggests, they are usually seen alone. Feeding mostly on berries in winter, each bird maintains its solitary status by defending a winter territory, staking out a supply of berries in a juniper grove or similar spot. These wintering birds often give a soft bell-like callnote; in summer (and sometimes in winter as well) they give voice to a complex song of clear musical warblings."

Townsend’s Solitaire

Find this thrush bird in forest edges in the West. The white eye-ring and long, slim tail with white outer feathers are key marks to look for in the field.

A Townsend’s Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi) takes a slow sip from icy river waters.