John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubonwas an American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his extensive studies documenting all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats. His major work, a color-plate book entitled The Birds of America, is considered one of the finest ornithological works ever completed. Audubon identified 25 new species...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionScientist
Date of Birth26 April 1785
CountryUnited States of America
As I grew up I was fervently desirous of becoming acquainted with Nature.
But the moment a bird was dead, no matter how beautiful it had been in life, the pleasure of possession became blunted for me.
The nature of the place...whether high or low, moist or dry, whether sloping north or south, or bearing tall trees or low shrubs...generally gives hint as to its inhabitants.
The worse my drawings were, the more beautiful did the originals appear.
If I can procure three hundred good substantial names of persons, or bodies, or institutions, I cannot fail to do well for my family, although I must abandon my life to its success, and undergo many sad perplexities and perhaps never see again my own beloved America.
I purchased excellent and beautiful horses, visited all such neighbors as I found in congenial spirits, and was as happy as happy could be.
There is the morass, wherein you plunge up to your knees, or the walking over the stubborn, dwarfish shrubbery, whereby one treads down the forests of Labrador; and the unexpected bunting or sylvia which perchance, and indeed as if by chance alone, you now and then see flying before you, or hear singing from the ground creeping plant.
One day I caught four Dolphins, how much I have gazed at these beautiful creatures... as they changed their hue in twenty varieties of richest arrangement of tints.
I discover that my friends think only of my apparel, and those upon whom I have conferred acts of kindness prefer to remind me of my errors.
I feel fully decided that we should all go to Europe together and to work as if an established Partnership for Life consisting of Husband Wife and Children.
How could I make a little book, when I have seen enough to make a dozen large books?
But hopes are shy birds flying at a great distance, seldom reached by the best of guns.
The mercantile business did not suit me
The best recommendation I can have is my own talents, and the fruits of my own labors, and what others will not do for me, I will try and do for myself.