A BI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE 

 DBVOTED TO THE STUDY AND PROTECTION OF BIRDS 



laON SOCIITIIS 



Vol. IX January — February, 1907 No. 1 



John James Audubon 



By C. HART MERRIAM ' 



OF the naturalists of America no one stands out in more picturesque 

 relief than Audubon, and no name is dearer than his to the hearts of 

 the American people. 



Born at an opportune time, Audubon undertook and accomplished one 

 of the most gigantic tasks that has ever fallen to the lot of one man to per- 

 form. Although for years diverted from the path Nature intended him to 

 follow, and tortured by half-hearted attempts at a commercial life, against 

 which his restive spirit rebelled, he finally, by the force of his own will, 

 broke loose from this bondage and devoted the remainder of his days to the 

 grand work that has made his memory immortal. 



His principal contributions to science are his magnificent series of illus- 

 trated volumes on the birds ^ and quadrupeds^ of North America, his 

 Synopsis of Birds *, and the Journals'' of his expeditions to Labrador and to 

 the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. 



The preparation and publication of his elephant folio atlases of life-size 

 colored plates of birds, begun in 1827 and completed in 1838, with the 

 accompanying volumes of text (the 'Ornithological Biography,' 1831-1839), 

 was a colossal task. But no sooner was it accomplished than an equally 

 sumptuous work on the mammals was undertaken, and, with the assistance 

 of Bachman, likewise carried to a successful termination. For more than 



' An address delivered at the American Museum of Natural History, December 29, 

 1906, on the unveiling of busts of ten pioneers of American science, presented to the 

 Museum by its president, Morris K. Jesup. 



'^ ' The Birds of America.' 4 atlases, double elephant folio, colored plates. London, 

 1827-1838; Ornithological Biography, an account of the habits of the birds of the United 

 States. 5 vols Royal Svo. Edinburgh, 1831-1839. 



••'The Quadrupeds of North America,' by John James Audubon and Rev. John 

 Bachman. 3 vols. Royal 8vo. text, and elephant folio atlas of colored plates. New York, 

 1846-1854. 



*' Synopsis of Birds of North America.' Edinburgh and London, 1839. 



*' Audubon and His Journals,' by Maria R. Audubon. 2 vols. 8vo. New York, 1897. 



