Audubon Bird of the Week
Each Friday afternoon, a member of the library staff turns a page of Audubon's historic The Birds of America. This ritual takes place at 3 pm and museum visitors are invited to see the turning of the page and ask any questions they may have.
It takes 8 1/2 years to page through the 435 plates, one week at a time!
Plate 183
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Regulus satrapa
The Academy of Natural Sciences was an original subscriber to the publication, as John James Audubon became a member of the Academy in 1831. The work was published as a subscription, with five plates at a time released over a period of eleven years, from 1827 to 1838. The Academy eventually bound its plates in five volumes. The Birds of America is quite large, published in a format referred to as the "double elephant folio". This format allowed Audubon to show the birds as close to life-size as possible, making the Trumpeter Swan, Flamingo, Wild Turkey, Bald Eagle and Great Blue Heron quite impressive. Bookmark this page and check it weekly to see the Audubon plate which is currently on display in the Ewell Sale Stewart Library's Reading Room. Or, better still, come and visit us and see the beautiful images for yourself!