Scientific Illustration

inkmaps:

thebirdsofamerica:

Detail of Plate 22 of The Birds of America, the Purple Martin. This is a female striking a rather strange pose, showing the side of her head and under wing. I think we’re seeing Audubon the scientist here, showing anatomical structure, as I doubt very much Purple Martins pose like this very often. I suppose it could be a preening attitude, but it looks a bit stilted for that. 

I guess I sound like a broken record, or CD, or whatever piece of broken technology endlessly repeats itself these days, but look at the details of her feathers and feet, and even the shading on the bark of the tree- all painted, then engraved, then colored by hand. 

I was just up at Audubon’s grave at Trinity Cemetery in Morningside Heights in Manhattan. It’s covered in beautiful carvings of flora and fauna. As I was walking away, two girls ran up to be and asked me to help them find birds. I tried to show them the ones on the grave, but they were more interested in the finches. The land that the cemetery is on used to be Audubon’s estate, so it felt like an appropriate place for bird watching.