Research Notes

We frequently post images, information, and research notes about John James Audubon and The Birds of America via social media; learn more here:  Audubon at Beinecke on Twitter & Audubon at Beinecke on Instagram.

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John James Audubon in Process: the New York Historical Society facsimile edition of Audubon’s original watercolor paintings for The Birds of America (call number: Call Number: 2011 Folio 66) often include textual notes in Audubon’s hand. In many cases, Audubon’s notes identify bird species and provide details about where and when he collected and painted his specimens.

His notes on the original painting for the Red-necked Grebe provide instructions for his printer, Robert Havel: “The yellow on this / bill must be light / and pure as is this / color in the / other bird’s bill at the base.”

See the finished plate and read Audubon’s text about this species from Ornithological Biography, or An Account of the Habits of the Birds of the United States of America at audubon.org: Red-necked Grebe.

John James Audubon, The New-York Historical Society Edition of Audubon’s Watercolors, the Complete Avian Collection: from the Original Watercolors Prepatory for John James Audubon’s Birds of America, [Chicago]: Oppenheimer Editions, c2010. (facsimiles) (Call Number: 2011 Folio 66)