Cuvier's Wren, Male
1829
About this artwork
This hand-colored aquatint engraving depicts a male Cuvier's Wren perched on a branch of Kalmia Latifolia (Mountain Laurel). It is Plate 55 from John James Audubon's seminal work, "The Birds of America," first published in parts between 1827 and 1838.
Did you know?
John James Audubon was a renowned ornithologist, naturalist, and painter who extensively documented American birds. This particular illustration, featuring a 'Cuvier's Wren,' is famous for its mystery: the species Audubon described is now widely believed to be a juvenile Golden-crowned Kinglet or another common species, making 'Cuvier's Wren' a phantom bird in ornithological history. This highlights the challenges of early scientific classification and the detailed, yet sometimes imperfect, observations of the natural world.
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Cuvier's Wren, Male
John James Audubon, 1829
