Canto del cigno

Canto del cigno (the swan song) is a expression derives from the ancient belief that swans, at the approach of death, instead of sadly extinguishing themselves, engaged in songs even more beautiful than those ever performed before.

The bird in painting is the last male Kauaʻi ʻōʻō, Hawaiian bird. The male was recorded singing a mating call, to a female who would never come. He died in 1987.

The flower “Franklinia alatamaha", a plant that was declared extinct in nature from the early 19th century.