John James Audubon

John James Audubon (1785-1851) was for half a century America's dominant wildlife artist. His seminal Birds of America, a collection of 435 life-size prints, is still a standard work, and the name Audubon remains synonymous with birds and bird conservation the world over. Born in Haiti, the illegitimate son of a French sea-captain, he was raised in France and sailed to America at the age of 18 where he went into business and began his study of birds. In 1819 he was briefly jailed for bankruptcy; with no other prospects, he set off on his epic quest to depict America's avifauna, with nothing but his gun, artist's materials, and a young assistant. Floating down the Mississippi, he lived a rugged hand-to-mouth existence while his devoted wife, Lucy, earned money as a tutor to wealthy plantation families. In 1826 he sailed with his partly finished collection to England. Lionized as the 'American woodsman', he hit just the right Romantic note for the era, and was an overnight success, finding printers for his book first in Edinburgh, then London. It was a classic American tale of triumph over adversity. Here are vivid 'bird biographies', his correspondence with Lucy, journal accounts of his dramatic river journeys and hunting trips with the Osage Indians, and a generous sampling of brief stories that have long been out of print, 'The Burning of the Forests' and 'Kentucky Barbecue on the Fourth of July' among them. The Audubon Reader is an unforgettable encounter with early America: with its wildlife and birds, with its people and its primordial wilderness.

The man's heart was restless; otherwise he would never have achieved so much. He must wander, he must vagabondize, he must acquire; he was never quite easy at the hearth. His love for nature was passionate indeed, pursuing him in all r -Robert Buchanan in the Editor's Preface This edited version of the diaries of John James Audubon reveals the ambitions, achievements, and personal life of the premiere wildlife artist of North America birds. First published in 1869, the book covers his coming to America, the difficulties he ROBERT BUCHANAN (1841-1901) was born in England and educated in Glasgow. As a young man, he was a regular on the literary scene in London, where he was a regular contributor to the city's periodicals. He authored numerous poems, novels, and stage

Including the red-winged blackbird, painted bunting, wood duck, great blue heron, ruby-throated hummingbird, purple finch, and blue jay, 46 different species of birds from all parts of the United States are included in this book. The pictures have been faithfully redrawn by Paul E. Kennedy from originals by John James Aububon (1785-1851), the most famous American painter-naturalist. For each species, the caption supplies the modern common and scientific names and the current range (by general region). No distinction is made between breeding range and winter range. Only the area of the United States, exclusive of Alaska and Hawaii, is considered. The birds shown are usually adult males when the caption does not give the information on age and sex. Audubon's original plates, numbered to correspond to the pages of the book, have been reproduced in color on the covers. If you follow them, you will not only have a great deal of coloring pleasure, but you will also learn how to identify many important birds.