Welcome
The work of Katrina van Grouw
Katrina van Grouw’s books combine meticulous observation, anatomical knowledge and artistic skill to reveal birds, animals and natural history in a strikingly original way.
About Katrina
Katrina van Grouw’s long and varied career has bridged the divide between art and science, always with birds at its centre. A former bird ringer, museum specimen preparator, curator of ornithology collections, author, journalist, fine artist and expert in historical bird art, she is a largely self-taught scientist whose lifelong passion for birds, landscapes and the natural world has shaped her work.
Her forty-year journey to create her magnum opus, A New Unfeathered Bird, reflects a singular dedication to understanding and revealing the anatomy, history and evolution of birds.
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Find out more about Katrina's books: A New Unfeathered Bird and Unnatural Selection.
These works bring together art, anatomy, evolution and natural history through some of the most distinctive bird illustration of recent decades.
Browse BooksA New Unfeathered Bird
A different way of seeing birds
A New Unfeathered Bird looks beneath the feathers to explore the structure, movement and hidden anatomy of birds.
Through detailed drawings and clear natural history insight, the book reveals how form, function and evolution shape the living bird.
Art and science
Observation, anatomy and illustration
Katrina’s work sits at the meeting point of science and art. Her illustrations are not simply decorative; they are a way of understanding structure, behaviour and the natural world.
This site brings together her books, background and selected resources for readers, researchers, artists and anyone interested in birds and natural history.
Selected recognition
Katrina’s work has been discussed in major science, natural history and literary outlets, including Smithsonian Magazine, New Scientist and The New York Times.
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