National Network for Equitable Library Service

Even before its completion in 1839, John James Audubon's Birds of America was recognized as a masterpiece of both art and natural science; a great scientist of the day called it the "most magnificent monument which has ever been raised to ornithology." Roger Tory Peterson and Virginia Marie Peterson's modern edition of the Birds of America, published with the full endorsement and cooperation of the National Audubon Society, is itself an acknowledged classic. Now, for the first time, it is available as an e-book. All 435 of Audubon's brilliant hand-colored engravings are presented in exquisite reproductions derived from the Audubon Society's own archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. A generously illustrated introduction surveys Audubon's career, as well as the history of American bird art before and after him. Descriptive captions, hyperlinks to authoritative species profiles, and a new, scientifically based arrangement of the prints allow us to appreciate Audubon's achievement in the light of modern ornithology. This enhanced version of the e-book also features high-quality embedded recordings of birdcalls from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library.