AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Black and Yellow Warbler, Plate 123.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
38 3/8” x 25 1/2” sheet.
Comparable: Christie's, 2004 - $5,019.
"The Black-and-Yellow Warbler has a clear and sweetly modulated song, surpassing that of many other birds of its tribe. It sings in the interior of the low woods, to which it seems at all times to give a decided preference. Its motions are extremely graceful; its tail is constantly spread as it flits along the branches, or even while it is on the ground, to which it frequently betakes itself, and its wings are usually held in a drooping position, so as to display all the beauty of its plumage. It feeds on insects and their larvae. Now and then it may be seen balancing itself in the air, opposite a cluster of leaves, among which it darts to secure its prey; and not unfrequently it emerges a few feet from among the foliage of a tree or bush, to seize a fluttering insect. In catching its prey, it does not produce the clicking sound, caused by the sudden meeting of the mandibles, so remarkable in some other species." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography.