The Beautiful Art of "England's Audubon" - John Gould

"English ornithologist John Gould (1804 – 1881) produced beautifully detailed lithographs of finches that were crucial to Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Gould, who studied birds and taxidermy, was hired by London’s Zoological Society to maintain their ornithological collections. Dubbed “England’s Audubon,” he published over 3,300 color plates of birds that were vital to studies in Australia, Europe, New Guinea and Asia. When he died, Gould left behind unsold works weighing almost three tons."--description from allposters.com

If you enjoyed the selection of 16 art prints below; scroll back up and see more of this beautiful bird related art here: The Art of John Gould

The Birds of Great Britain, Published 1862-1873 

Spathura Solstitialis 

Bonaparte's Star Fronted Hummingbird 

Celebean Pitta 

Port-Moresby Racket-Tailed Kingfisher 

Duchess of Leuchtenberg's Aracari 

Chestnut Billed Groove Bill 

Laminated Hill Toucan 

Bird of Paradise, Engraved by T. Walter 

Hummingbird, engraved by Walter and Cohn 

Reinwardt's Trogon 

Bengal Pitta 

Yellow Billed Aracari 

Nightingale 

A Monograph of the Trochilidae or Family of Hummingbirds, Published 1849-1861 

Platycercus Adelaidae from the Birds of Australia, C.1840 

The Passion for Birds Begins in a Wondrous Way

Well, I went for a nice walk this morning and it was beautiful, the sun was shining, and the Cardinals were out in full force, singing away. I even saw a flock of Sandhil Cranes flying overhead and bugling. The cranes have been gone for a number of months so it was a lift to the winter weary spirits to see them again. All in all, it seems like agood day to start a blog about a topic that has been a passion of mine for more than four decades - birds. And since it is the beginning of the blog it seems appropriate to start at the beginning of the passion.

When I was five years old, I was a relatively adventurous lad. I was newly enfranchised as a bicyclist and I started riding all over the place and exploring. So one fine early summer day I was out enjoying myself, riding in the neighborhood. Around the corner from my house lived an elderly couple who were skilled gardeners. They had a very beautiful garden filled with colorful flowers that I stopped to admire. As I stood gazing at the flowers, my eyes detected movement. And what to my wondering eyes did appear - a creature I now know to be a Ruby Throated Hummingbird. What a discovery - no one had ever told me about anything like this! I was transfixed and remain so to this day. I rushed home and told my mother and she explained to me what it was. And so it began...

I keep a life list and count the Ruby Throated Hummingbird as #1 on that List. I was fortunate in having the magic and great beauty of birds revealed to me in this most wondrous way.

I can still see that bird in my mind's eye.