The Birds of America

@thebirdsofamerica.bsky.social

507 Followers 881 Following

The Birds of America is a collection of illustrations by naturalist John James Audubon published from 1827 to 1838. The set consists of 435 prints made from engraved plates depicting life-sized birds in a natural setting.

Print of a pair of reddish egrets from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult struts through shallow marsh water, a juvenile stands nearby at the water's edge.

Print of a group of red phalaropes from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult in breeding plumage stands on a rock in front of a large body of water. Two others are in non-breeding plumage to the left, one on the ground and one in flight.

Print of a pair of Wilson's phalarope from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult flies in towards another individual in non-breeding plumage foraging along the edge of a shallow pond or waterway.

Print of a pomarine Jaeger from Audubon's "The Birds of America. One adult struts along some grassy knolls past an overturned oyster shell.

Print of a double-crested cormorant from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult in breeding plumage perches on a broken, forked tree limb sticking just a few inches out of the water. Many other individuals can bee seen in the distance on rocks and small islands.

Print of a brown pelican from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult perches at the end of a broken tree limb bearing one or two leafy branches.

Print of an arctic tern from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult in breeding plumage dives down towards an open sea under overcast skies

Print of a pair of pied-billed grebes from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One juvenile swims up to an adult in a pond, tall grasses growing along the water's edge.

Print of a pair of white-winged scoters from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One male stands and stretches upwards while one female sits nearby, both on a rocky outcropping overlooking an open sea.

Print of a group of common eiders from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One male and one female aggressively repel a second male. Behind them is a clutch of eggs in matted down grass.

Print of a thick-billed murre from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult flies past over choppy seawater.

Print of a common gallinule from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult struts along some muddy ground towards calm, shallow waters.

Print of a group of Wilson's snipes from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Three individuals stand beside some marsh grasses at the water's edge. At the far side of a pond or small lake sits a white, two story house with a smoking chimney surrounded by various trees.

Print of a snowy egret from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult in breeding plumage stands at the water's edge among some marsh plants; in the distance is a plantation style homestead of the southeastern US, a man approaches the bird with a musket or rifle raised.

Print of a great black-backed gull from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult lays on the sloping ground, one wing extended, the other badly injured and bloody.

Print of a roseate tern from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult dives down at a steep angle against the blue sky.

Print of and American coot from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult struts towards the water in front front of tall marsh grasses.

Print of a pair of marbled godwits from Audubon's "The Birds of America."

Print of a Hudsonian whimbrel from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult struts along rocky and grassy terrain, head held high

Print of a pair of black-crowned night-herons from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult and one juvenile stand at the waterside in front of marsh grasses and white lilies, the adult reaches down to investigate a frog.

Print of a sooty tern from Audubon's "The Birds of America." one adult flies by with wings bent and mouth agape.

Print of a group of soras from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult stands between two immatures on muddy flats, reaching up towards an insect on some tall marsh grass.

Print of a pair of hooded mergansers from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One male and one female stand upon a rock sticking out of calm waters; the male raising his crest.

Print of a pair of long-billed curlews from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Two individuals stand on some muddy ground in front of tall reeds. A city can be seen at the far end of the open body of water nearby.

Print of a group of sanderlings from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Three individuals each with a different seasonal plumage crouch over the sand on a beach strewn with small shells.

Print of a pair of lesser scaup from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One male stands on flat muddy terrain in front of a female sitting and tucked.

Print of a pair of green-winged teals from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One male and one female stand on their own mossy rock.

Print of a pair of northern pintails from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One male and one female step out of the water to chase a flying insect across an open landscape.

Print of a whooping crane from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult crouches down to attack some tiny crocodilian hatchlings in front of a bayou landscape.

Print of a pair of killdeer from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One individual stands on rocky terrain in front of a small patch of beach grass, a second flies by.

Print of a pair of black-legged kittiwakes from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult stands in front of one juvenile facing the opposite direction atop a large dome-shaped rock.

Print of an American Oystercatcher from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult runs along a rocky shore in front of choppy water.

Print of a pair of white ibises from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult struts along the muddy waterside with a crayfish of some kind nearby, a juvenile stands on a degraded log sticking out from the water.

Print of a group of mallards from Audubon's "The Birds of America. Two hens and two drakes group around a shallow pool, one pair investigating a snail on some tall marsh grass.

Print of a group of black guillemots from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One winter plumage adult flies overhead, with a summer plumage adults swimming in calm water. A chick sits nearby on a small rocky precipice.

Print of a pair of common murres from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Two breeding plumage individuals sit on a bare rocky shore beside choppy seas.

Print of a tricolored heron from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One breeding plumage adult struts along in front of a wetland scene with a broad leafed plant behind, and tall palms in the distance.

Print of a wood stork from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult crouches and bends towards the water from a muddy shore in a swampy bayou scene.

Print of a group of red-necked phalaropes from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Each shows a different stage of plumage, one above is in flight, one to the right is swimming in open calm waters, and to the left one stands on a patch of floating marine vegetation.

Print of a pair of razorbills from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Two adults in breeding plumage swim in ocean water in front of a mountain or glacier scene.

Print of a pair of Atlantic puffins from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult stands tall on a grassy island, another sits on a nest in a hole in the ground.

Print of a pair of ring-billed gulls from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult and one immature individual look behind them as they strut along some bare ground strewn with marine snail shells.

Print of a great blue heron from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult stands at the water's edge surrounded by grasses, bending down towards the water.

Print of a group of least bitterns from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Two adults stand in front of a cluster of reeds, heads held high; a juvenile stands nearby.

Print of a pair of Eskimo or northern curlews from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One large brown shorebird struts along mossy ground, another lays on its back below; not clear if injured or merely sunning.

Print of a brown booby from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult stands on a snag sticking out of open water in front of a distant seaside town

Print of a group of wood ducks from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One hen sits on a nest in a hollowed horizontal log, while a drake flies by. Another pair perch above on a branch bearing broad green leaves.

Print of a group of Virginia rails from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One adult to the left wades through shallow water, another stands on the muddy water's edge investigating a cricket-like arthropod on some marsh grass, a juvenile sits on the ground behind.

Print of a pair of clapper rails from Audubon's "The Birds of America.' Two individuals stand together on a bed of dead reeds at the waters edge, one standing tall and calling out.

Print of a pair of king rails from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One individual stands in water at the edge of a muddy shore with beach grass growing behind; a second individual runs along the ground towards the water.

Print of a group of red-throated loons from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One winter plumage individual sits on the muddy shore among pitcher plants, with two breeding plumage adults swimming closeby, and a young chick right at the water's edge

Print of a pair of Canada geese from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One individual stands on bare ground, holding up its head and honking, another sits nearby, sheltered by tall grasses and reeds.

Print of a group of horned larks from Audubon's "The Birds of America.' Three adults in various plumages perch on mossy ground next to a nest with two young, and a third fledging.

Print of a Swainson's warbler from Audubon's "The Birds of America." One individual perches among bright orange flowers with extended stamens, two intricately patterned butterflies flutter closely. Audubon has also illustrated a comparison to the bill and fourth claw of a worm-eating warbler.

Print of a group of red crossbills from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Eight birds, including males, females and juveniles group together on a hemlock branch.

Print of a pair of gyrfalcons from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Each is perched at the end of its own dead branch, one glancing downwards, the other lookin up

Print of a pair of ruby-crowned kinglets from Audubon's "The Birds of America." Two individuals flit about with red crests raised on a twig bearing a cluster of small white and red flowers.