Flipping the Birds

The Muskie Archives presents its copy of John James Audubon’s Birds of America for display in the lobby of Ladd Library. The first folio presentation was on November 20th, 2024. Page turnings will continue on a monthly basis through June 2025. Archives staff will lead monthly page turnings and have guest speakers to add context and information about each featured bird.

The edition of Birds of America, a double elephant folio published in 1860, features 150 of the 435 drawings that were first printed beginning in 1827. This double elephant folio, with lithographs by Julius Bien, was the first Audubon printed entirely in America. Although the Civil War brought an early end to production of the volume, nearly bankrupting the family, the resulting work was still a masterpiece of nineteenth century nature art and book publishing.

Join us March 12th at 12:30pm in the lobby of Ladd Library for the next presentation. 

Subsequent dates:

April 9th at 12:30pm

May 14th at 12:30pm

June 7th at 1:00pm

February’s featured bird: Carolina Parrot

The Carolina Parakeet–here called a ‘parrot’ by Audubon–was first described by Europeans in Florida in 1583, and first described scientifically in the 1730s. Its habitat was primarily in old-growth forests and swamps, and along rivers, and it ranged throughout the southeastern US, although it was reliably observed as far north as New York and Wisconsin, and as far west as Colorado. Unfortunately, the Carolina Parakeet is now considered extinct, with the last known specimen dying in the Cincinnati zoo in 1918. Sightings were reported from swamps in Georgia and South Carolina in the 1930s, but these were never confirmed. 

This once-plentiful bird was already in observable decline by the time Audubon described them in the 1830s, most likely due to deforestation, overhunting, and the decorative value of their plumage. Valued at first for its large appetite for the (possibly) invasive cocklebur plant, farmers quickly discovered that the birds would eat nearly any other crop, besides corn, as well. Entire fields were wiped out by large flocks of the noisy birds, but as they did not flee from humans, they were easily dispatched in large numbers. Despite the population decline throughout the 19th century, ornithologists still noted large flocks and numerous nesting sites in some areas as late as 1896. However, a decade later even these were nearly gone, despite the loss of habitat, leaving the ultimate reason for their extinction still something of a mystery.

January’s featured birds: Arctic Tern and Sandwich Tern

This month’s presentation features two different species of terns, which are seabirds
closely related to the gulls. Terns are a bit more specialized for feeding on small
fish, however, and so are not as attracted to humans and our garbage. They tend to
be seen over open water, especially near the coast, but sometimes very far offshore.

Arctic Tern (modern taxonomic name: Sterna paradisaea)
We now know that these small birds make amazing migrations, traveling from the
Arctic to the Antarctic and back, every year. Audubon painted this one after
observing and collecting them in the Atlantic Canada in 1833. He writes about
their buoyant flight: “Light as a sylph, the Arctic Tern dances through the air above
and around you.”

Sandwich Tern (modern taxonomic name: Thalasseus sandvicensis)
Audubon first encountered this species in North America on May 26 th , 1832, while
sailing along the Florida Keys. He describes their very simple nests (typical of
many tern species), in which the eggs are: “…dropped on the sand, at short
intervals, with scarcely any appearance of a hollow for their reception.” Today they
are present further north (to Virginia) than during the 19th century.

December’s featured bird: Virginian Partridge

The Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) is not a partridge at all, but rather a New World quail. The common name comes from its three note song: “poor bob white.” Though their natural range, which covers much of the eastern United States, extends no further north than Massachusetts, you may occasionally see this bird in Maine. Hunting clubs bring them into the state, and some do get away. These highly social birds live in groups called coveys.  As a defensive maneuver, a covey may form a rosette: a circle of birds on the ground facing outward, ready to burst forth in every direction when a predator approaches.

November’s featured bird: Wild Turkey

Typical of Audubon’s work is this first plate from the book, most likely showing the Eastern wild turkey, a subspecies. “Drawn from nature” was Audubon’s own description for his art, but his process actually involved shooting the bird then bringing it back to his studio, where it would be rigged into position with a complicated set-up of wires. The specimen here was probably taken by Audubon during one of his travels down the Mississippi River, and is painted among what Audubon called “American Cane” (today called Giant Cane, Arundinaria gigantea). Audubon also painted his birds primarily using watercolors, unlike most naturalist painters of his day who worked in oils. See the National Audubon Society for more information on Wild Turkey.