Bird of Washington (Audubon) — Small

by Knytstudio

Description

Plate 11 of Birds of America by John James Audubon depicting Bird of Washington. Originally claimed by Audubon to be a different, significantly bigger, already very rare species, most subsequent ornithologists generally considered it was a misidentified juvenile Bald Eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus . However, recent detailed investigation (Halley, M. R. 2020, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 140 (2): 110-141 ) has shown it to be a case of scientific fraud, based not on a specimen as Audubon claimed, but by copying older drawings of other smaller eagles. His motive is thought to be to raise funds for and interest in his forthcoming Birds of America book.

Pattern Info

Cross Stitch