Songbird Prairie has John James Audubon prints in guestrooms

              

Birds of America
Introduction

Audubon would like to thank Richard Buonanno for compiling the content for this online version of John James Audubon’s Birds of America, now available for display on Audubon.org. It is from an 1840 “First Octavo Edition” of Audubon’s complete seven volume text, and presents Audubon’s images and original text descriptions. Bird species can be found listed alphabetically, or categorized by family. Audubon’s drawings of some species’ anatomical features are also included in the “Figures” section. The list of species that have gone extinct since Audubon’s time was provided by Mr. Buonanno, as was the list of State Birds.

Note: This online edition utilizes the following conventions:

• Within the text, you will see many names in capital letters. This was the convention that Audubon himself used in his text to set off proper names.
• The Greek words that Audubon used in his Family and Genus descriptions have been “Latinized.”
• The letters sometimes used in Audubon’s species descriptions refer to the specific parts of the Figure for that article. These letters have been enclosed in square brackets in order to make them more visible.
  Birds of America
  John James Audubon as Artist
  
  John James Audubon was a daring and colorful character renowned for his adventurous nature, his artistic genius, and his obsessive interest in birds. Learn about his life by reading “John James Audubon -The American Woodsman: Our Namesake and Inspiration“. He explored the natural history of much of the central and eastern United States, painted almost 500 species of the 700 or so regularly occurring North American species, worked tirelessly to promote his project, and set a new standard for artistry and printing. Perhaps above all else, Audubon was a lover and observer of birds and nature.
  Audubon drew birds from life whenever possible rather than from specimens alone. He did, indeed, shoot specimens that he wired and propped into life-like positions as models for his paintings. Of equal or greater importance, he spent much of his life traveling the continent observing the birds (and animals) in remarkable depth and detail. He studied the creatures in all of their plumages. He attempted to tease out mysteries of aberrant plumages and apparent hybrids. He took note of the birds’ food and habitat preferences meticulously. And, he watched them move, interact, and behave. He strove for action and reality; this was a new approach to the painting of birds.
  Audubon has been accused of presenting his subjects in too theatric a manner. The occasionally awkward postures he often used, however, emphasize outstanding features or fieldmarks. The exaggerated curves and stretches in some of his paintings also reflect his artistic eye; they work in the context of the painting. Finally, these paintings reflect Audubon’s love and fascination with the beauty and dynamics of our birds and the rest of our natural heritage; lively action jumps from the pages.
  As you explore this portfolio of his artwork, consider the complex story that each painting is telling and the fragile beauty it is depicting. Look at the Worm-eating Warblers eating pokeberries. It is a balanced, beautiful painting of curves and subtle colors; it shows all aspects of the adult birds’ plumage, and it includes a bird foraging on dead leaves – a very characteristic behavior of Worm-eating Warblers. Notice in the painting “Green Heron,” that Audubon shows us not only an adult male and “young in September ” but also appropriate botanicals and a Luna Moth. Explore the frenzy of activity depicted in “Northern Bobwhites and Red-shouldered Hawk” and “Northern Mockingbirds.” And finally, think of Audubon the conservationist when you view his painting of the Carolina Parakeets. Audubon knew that this species was declining and that birds in general were finite and often fragile because of the complex individual needs of each species. He knew that they needed and deserved conservation.
• The Cardinal suite has a print of the male and female cardinal
• The Warbler suite has a variety of warblers in one print
• The Bluebird suite has a male bluebird print
• The Purplefinch suite has picture of birds on nests
• The Robin Suite has a pictue of a robin, the male and female look alike

Where do hummingbirds winter?

Jim Williams, Special to the Star Tribune

Ruby-throated hummingbird, juvenile male, at geranium flower

As ruby-throated hummingbirds are returning to the state, researchers are learning more about where they spend the other half of the year.

By VAL CUNNINGHAM, Contributing Writer

Around the first of May each year, ruby-throated hummingbirds begin returning to the midwest. Wonder where they’ve been all winter?

So do the scientists.

At the end of each summer, some 7 million ruby-throats from across the eastern United States and Canada essentially disappear.

There are indications that they travel to the tropics, going as far south as Panama. But hummingbirds are so common in Central America that few people even notice them, much less track them. These little mountain birds also disperse widely, making it even less likely they’d draw attention. So, much of what we know about ruby-throats outside the United States is based on assumptions.

A South Carolina naturalist and educator is working to change that.

Bill Hilton Jr. has been banding U.S. ruby-throats for decades. Over the years, Hilton and others have slipped tiny aluminum rings on more than 200,000 hummingbirds. Still, none of the banded birds have been reported in Central America.

And the value of banding birds lies in them being reported after being caught by another bander or found dead. It’s only when a banded bird is rediscovered that researchers can learn where its band was attached. That, in turn, tells a great deal about a bird’s itinerary.

But Hilton isn’t giving up. For the past several years, he’s been leading groups of volunteers to the other end of the migratory trail. In winter, they head to Costa Rica to study and band hummingbirds there.

The banders found an aloe vera plantation popular with ruby-throats. By banding a few dozen of these birds over several years, Hilton could tell that the same ruby-throats were returning from year to year, a practice called “site fidelity” in ornithological circles.

To date, an estimated 400 ruby-throats have been banded on their tropical wintering grounds. That’s a small percentage of the estimated population. But the banding work has already proved its worth: The birds that return each year to the aloe plantation send a strong message about conserving such sites.

“Site fidelity like this gives us pretty powerful evidence when we talk about the need to protect the birds’ habitat,” said Hilton.

And, in the summer of 2008, Hilton got some exciting news. A bird he’d banded in Costa Rica had turned up in the United States.

This hummingbird, encountered in Georgia, was the first-ever ruby-throat banded in Central America to be captured in the United States. That makes it the first hard evidence that ruby-throats migrate back and forth.

You can help

If you’re a hummingbird fan, you can help learn more about these birds. Here’s how: If you come across a ruby-throat with a band on its leg, contact the federal Bird Banding Laboratory. Either fill out a form on its web page (www.pwrc.usgs.gov/bbl/) or call 1-800-327-BAND. They’ll ask for the band number and where the bird was found, and report this information to the original bander.

If you’d like to join one of those winter bird-banding trips to the tropics, go to www.hiltonpond.org and click on hummingbirds.

Val Cunningham, a St. Paul resident, writes about nature for local and regional newspapers. She’s also the author of “The Gardener’s Hummingbird Book.” She can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.