Juan Lembeye was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 naturalist

Natural history

Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...

.

Lembeye was the author of Aves de la Isla de Cuba (1850), the only book of bird illustrations to be published in Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

. Born in Galicia, Lembeye lived in Cuba from the 1830s to the 1860s, and became interested in birds while he was there. The majority of the 38 drawings in Lembeye's book were copied from the royal octavo plates of John James Audubon

John James Audubon

John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...

; in some cases, he even copied the plants depicted in the background. Bee Hummingbird

Bee Hummingbird

The Bee Hummingbird or Zunzuncito is a species of hummingbird that is endemic to Cuba and Isla de la Juventud...

 was described in his book first time, Mellisuga helenae Gundlach

Lembeye discovered Cuban Solitaire

Cuban Solitaire

The Cuban Solitaire , also known as the Cuban nightingale, is a species of bird in the Turdidae family.It is endemic to Cuba.Its natural habitat is montane moist forests.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...

 (Myadestes elisabeth) and Yellow-headed Warbler

Yellow-headed Warbler

The Yellow-headed Warbler is a species of bird in the Parulidae family.It is endemic to Cuba.Its natural habitats are dry forests and lowland moist forests.-References:...

 (Teretistris fernandinae), and is commemorated in the specific name of Cuban Gnatcatcher

Cuban Gnatcatcher

The Cuban Gnatcatcher is a species of bird in the Polioptilidae family, the gnatcatchers.It is endemic to Cuba.Its natural habitat is xeric scrubland. It is the smallest species in the Polioptilidae family at 10 cm ....

, Polioptila lembeyei. His colleagues included Juan Gundlach

Juan Gundlach

Juan Cristóbal Gundlach , born Johannes Christoph Gundlach was a Cuban naturalist and taxonomist.-Biography:...

 and Victor López Seoane.

External links

• Historical Museum of Southern Florida