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This page provides information about the original double elephant folio edition of The Birds Of America.

Birds Of America:
- Double Elephant edition
- Royal Octavo edition
- Later editions

Ornithological Biography

Other artwork books

Biographical books

Audubon's Journals

Miscellaneous

The Birds Of America

Double Elephant Folio Edition

John James Audubon

1827 to 1838

The original publication of Audubon's Birds Of America comprises 435 color plates printed on double elephant sized paper (approximately 39.5 inches by 28.5 inches).

The plates were issued to subscribers usually in sets of 5 every month or two between 1827 and 1838. Thus there is no definitive format of the book. Generally the plates were subsequently bound into volumes, often 4 or 5, by the subscribers.

It is thought that about 200 full sets of plates were produced. Only 120 full sets now exist.

The only text in The Birds Of America is a title on each plate giving the name or names of the birds displayed. Detailed descriptive text was published separately in Ornithological Biography.

The birds portrayed in The Birds Of America are:

Wild Turkey Yellow-billed Cuckoo Prothonotary Warbler Purple Finch Bonaparte's Flycatcher Wild Turkey Purple Grakle or Common Crow Blackbird White throated Sparrow Selby's Flycatcher Brown Titlark Bird of Washington Baltimore Oriole Snow Bird Prairie Warbler Blue Yellow-backed Warbler Great-footed Hawk Carolina Turtle Dove Bewick's Wren Louisiana Water Thrush Blue-winged Yellow Warbler Mocking Bird Purple Martin Yellow-breasted Warbler Roscoe's Yellow-throat Song Sparrow Carolina Parrot Red headed Woodpecker Solitary Flycatcher or Vireo Towhe Bunting Vigor's Warbler White-headed Eagle Black-billed Cuckoo American Goldfinch Worm eating Warbler Children's Warbler Stanley Hawk Golden-winged Woodpecker Kentucky Warbler Crested Titmouse American Redstart Ruffed Grouse Orchard Oriole Cedar Bird Summer Red Bird Traill's Flycatcher Barred Owl Ruby-throated Humming Bird Azure Warbler Blue-green Warbler Black & Yellow Warbler Red-tailed Hawk Chuck-will's Widow Painted Finch Rice Bird Cuvier's Regulus Red-shouldered Hawk Loggerhead Shrike Hermit Thrush Chestnut-sided Warbler Carbonated Warbler Great Horned Owl Passenger Pigeon White-eyed Flycatcher or Vireo Swamp Sparrow Rathbone Warbler Ivory-billed Woodpecker Red-winged Starling or Marsh Blackbird Republican or Cliff Swallow Bay-breasted Warbler Henslow's Bunting Winter Hawk Swallow-tailed Hawk Wood Thrush Indigo Bird Le Petit Caporal Virginian Partridge Belted Kingfisher Great Carolina Wren Tyrant Fly-catcher Prairie Titlark Fish Hawk or Osprey Whip-poor-will House Wren Blue-Grey Fly-catcher Yellow Throated Warbler Black Warrior Florida Jay Autumnal Warbler Nashville Warbler Black & White Creeper Broad-winged Hawk Pigeon Hawk Sea-side Finch Grass Finch or Bay-winged Bunting Yellow-poll Warbler Columbia Jay Little Screech Owl White-bellied Swallow Cow-pen Bird Marsh Wren Raven Blue Jay Canada Warbler Chipping Sparrow Red-breasted Nuthatch Black Vulture or Carrion Crow Canada Jay Fox-coloured Sparrow Savannah Finch Hooded Warbler Pileated Woodpecker Downy Woodpecker Blue-bird White-crowned Sparrow Wood Pewee Ferruginous Thrush Mississippi Kite Warbling Flycatcher Yellow-throated Vireo Pewit Flycatcher Snowy Owl Blue Grosbeak Black & Yellow Warblers Green Black-capt Flycatcher Brown-headed Nuthatch White-headed Eagle Rose-breasted Grosbeak Cat Bird Great Crested Flycatcher Yellow-winged Sparrow American Robin Three-toed Woodpecker Black-poll Warbler Hemlock Warbler Blackburnian Warbler Meadow Lark Yellow-breasted Chat Connecticut Warbler Field Sparrow Pine Creeping Warbler Goshawk / Stanley Hawk American Sparrow Hawk Golden-crowned Thrush Small Green Crested Flycatcher Yellow Red-poll Warbler Fish Crow Night Hawk Pine Swamp Warbler Sharp-tailed Finch Red-eyed Vireo Turkey Buzzard White-breasted Black-capped Nuthatch Yellow-crown Warbler Tennessee Warbler Black-throated Blue Warbler American Crow Rusty Grakle American Swift Cardinal Grosbeak Black-capped Titmouse Brasilian Caracara Eagle Zenaida Dove Palm Warbler Tawny Thrush Bachmans Finch Rough-legged Falcon Key-west Dove Fork-tailed Flycatcher Mangrove Cuckoo Gray Tyrant Barn Owl Blue-headed Pigeon Barn Swallow Olive sided Flycatcher Nuttall's lesser-marsh Wren Spotted Grous White-crowned Pigeon Orange-crowned Warbler Wood Wren Pine Finch Goldon Eagle Ground Dove Goldon-crested-Wren Mangrove Humming Bird Bachman's Warbler Pinnated Grous Boat-tailed Grackle Tree Sparrow Snow Bunting Yellow bellied Woodpecker Willow Grous or Large Ptarmigan Great American Shrike or Butcher Bird Lincoln Finch Canadian Titmouse Ruby crowned Wren Labrador Falcon American Crossbill Brown headed Worm eating Warbler Little Owl Shore Lark Canada Goose Red-Throated Diver Fresh Water Marsh Hen Salt Water Marsh Hen Virginia Rail Summer or Wood Duck Booby Gannet Esquimaux Curlew Wilson's Plover Least Bittern Great blue Heron Common Gull Puffin Razor Bill Hyperborean phalarope Wood Ibiss Louisiana Heron Foolish Guillemot Black Guillemot Piping Plover Mallard Duck White Ibis Pied oyster-catcher Kittiwake Gull Kildeer Plover Hooping Crane Pin tailed Duck American Green winged Teal Scaup Duck Ruddy Plover Long-billed Curlew Hooded Merganser Sora or Rail Tufted Duck Sooty Tern Night Heron or Qua bird Great Esquimaux Curlew Great Marbled Godwit American Coot Roseate Tern Black Backed Gull Snowy Heron or White Egret American Snipe

Common Gallinule Thick-billed Murre Eider Duck Velvet Duck American Pied-bill Dobchick Tufted Auk Arctic Tern Brown Pelican Florida Cormorant Jager Wilson's Phalarope Red Phalarope Purple Heron Double-crested Cormorant Hudsonian Godwit Horned Grebe Fork-tail Petrel Hooping Crane Tropic Bird Pigmy Curlew Fulmar Petrel Buff breasted Sandpiper Common Cormorant Arctic Yager American Woodcock Greenshank Stormy Petrel Frigate Pelican Richardson's Jager Cayenne Tern Semipalmated Snipe, or Willet Noddy Tern King Duck Hutchins's Barnacle Goose Schinz's Sandpiper Sandwich Tern Black Tern Great White Heron White-winged silvery Gull Wandering Shearwater Purple Sandpiper Fork-tailed Gull White-fronted Goose Ivory Gull Yellow Shank Solitary Sandpiper Red backed Sandpiper Herring Gull Crested Grebe Large billed Puffin Pectoral Sandpiper Manks Shearwater Barnacle Goose Harlequin Duck Red-necked Grebe Dusky Petrel Golden Plover Canvas backed Duck Dusky Duck Bartram Sandpiper Turn-stone Purple Gallinule Great Northern Diver or Loon Blue Crane or Heron Tell-tale Godwit or Snipe Great Tern Spotted Sandpiper American White Pelican Long-tailed Duck Blue-Winged Teal Black-headed Gull Red-breasted Sandpiper Black-bellied Darter Black, or Surf Duck American Avocet Lesser Tern Little Sandpiper Roseate Spoonbill Red-headed Duck Black Skimmer or Shearwater Bonapartian Gull Buffel-headed Duck Gannet Shoveller Duck Long-legged Avocet Yellow-breasted Rail Ring Plover Goosander Pied Duck Green Heron Black-bellied Plover Red-breasted Snipe Yellow-Crowned Heron American Bittern Bemaculated Duck Little Auk Least Stormy-Petrel Great Auk Golden-Eye Duck Ruddy Duck Long-legged Sandpiper American Widgeon Black-Throated Diver Smew or White Nun Gadwall Duck Least Water-hen Rocky Mountain Plover Great Cinereous Owl Black-Winged Hawk Chesnut-backed Titmouse / Black-capt Titmouse / Chesnut-crowned Titmouse Louisiana Tanager / Scarlet Tanager MacGillivray's Finch Marsh Hawk American Magpie Pine Grosbeak Arkansaw Flycatcher / Swallow-Tailed Flycatcher / Says Flycatcher Winter Wren / Rock Wren Long-tailed or Dusky Grous Yellow billed Magpie / Stellers Jay / Ultramarine Jay / Clark's Crow Bohemian Chatterer White-winged Crossbill Lapland Long-spur Iceland or Jer Falcon Band-tailed Pigeon Rock Grous Mountain Mocking bird / Varied Thrush American Water Ouzel Cock of the Plains Common Buzzard Evening Grosbeak / Spotted Grosbeak Sharp-shinned Hawk Lesser Red-Poll Trumpeter Swan Scolopaceus Courlan Hawk Owl Ruff-necked Humming-bird Tengmalm's Owl Snow Goose Sharp-tailed Grous Long-eared Owl Black-Throated Bunting Bank Swallow / Violet-green Swallow White Heron Glossy Ibis Nuttall's Starling / Yellow-headed Troopial / Bullock's Oriole Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Lark Finch / Prairie Finch / Brown Song Sparrow Brant Goose Louisiana Hawk Townsend's Warbler / Arctic Blue-bird / Western Blue-bird Chestnut-coloured Finch / Black-headed Siskin / Black crown Bunting / Arctic Ground Finch Audubon's Warbler / Hermit Warbler / Black-throated gray Warbler Burgomaster Gull Scarlet Ibis Lazuli Finch / Clay-coloured Finch / Oregon Snow Finch Black-throated green Warbler / Blackburnian / Mourning Warbler Arkansaw Siskin / Mealy Red-poll / Louisiana Tanager / Townsend's Finch / Buff-breasted Finch Red-breasted Merganser Black-throated Guillemot / Nobbed-billed Auk / Curled-crested Auk / Horned-billed Guillemot Golden-eye Duck Eared Grebe Semipalmated Sandpiper Trumpeter Swan Dusky Albatros American Scoter Duck Havell's Tern / Trudeau's Tern Marsh Tern Common American Swan Violet-green Cormorant / Townsend's Cormorant California Partridge Golden-winged Warbler / Cape May Warbler Brown Creeper / Californian Nuthatch Hairy Woodpecker / Red-bellied Woodpecker / Red-shafted Woodpecker / Lewis' Woodpecker / Red-breasted Woodpecker Maria's Woodpecker / Three-toed Woodpecker / Phillips' Woodpecker / Canadian Woodpecker / Harris's Woodpecker / Audubon's Woodpecker American Ptarmigan / White-tailed Grous Little Tawny Thrush / Ptiliogony's Townsendi / Canada Jay Prairie Starling Brown Pelican Rough-legged Falcon Plumed--Partridge / Thick--legged Partridge Lazuli Finch / Crimson-necked Bull-Finch / Gray-crowned Linnet / Cow-pen Bird / Evening Grosbeak / Brown Longspur Columbian Humming Bird Californian Vulture White-legged Oyster-catcher / Slender-billed Oyster-catcher Townsend's Sandpiper Western Duck Slender-billed Guillemot American Flamingo Burrowing Owl / Large-headed Burrowing Owl / Little night Owl / Columbian Owl / Short-eared Owl Bullock's Oriole / Baltimore Oriole / Mexican Goldfinch / Varied Thrush / Common Water Thrush Little Tyrant Fly-catcher / Small-headed Fly-catcher / Blue Mountain Warbler / Bartran's Vireo / Short-legged Pewee / Rocky Mountain Fly-catcher Columbian Water Ouzel / Arctic Water Ouzel