¡Qual la descañonan! (How they pluck her!), plate 21 from the first edition of Los Caprichos (Madrid, 1799)

Three constables with leonine features surround a creature with the head of a woman and body of a bird. Two of her captors gnaw on her wings while a third stands protectively behind the group. His serene—almost beatific—countenance forms a stark contrast to the bird-woman’s expression of horror.

Goya frequently merges human and animal features in Los Caprichos. This reflects his interest in physiognomy, the theory that physical resemblances between humans and animals indicate human dispositions. Here, for example, the mane-like hair and paw-like hands of the constables place them somewhere between human and feline, signaling their predatory nature as they prepare to devour the defenseless bird-woman.