Audubon's indigo bunting

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my favorite Audubon's:

Indigo-bird, (today, bunting)

"The indigo bird is not a forest bird, but prefers the skirts of the woods, the little detached thickets in and along the fields, the meadows, the gardens, and orchards…they sing from the highest top of a detached tree.”

From Ornithological Biography by naturalist/artist John James Audubon.

Why is Audubon relevant? Because in addition to his artistic talent and perseverance, he was a d--- good naturalist. A lot of what we know today about birds, the audacious Audubon was the first to put in print. 

On January 20, a complete first edition set of Audubon's The Birds of America including his five-volume Ornithological Biography will be auctioned in New York at Christie's. There are only 120 known copies of this huge work. As big as a coffee table, weighing over 200 pounds, it contains 435 hand-colored engravings printed on handmade paper measuring 29.5 X 39.5 inches. Assembled into four volumes, it's massive.

I'll be speaking at Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge on Thursday at 1 p.m. about the "Making of Audubon's Birds of America," a most remarkable feat.

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