Birds of the Smokies: The Art of Audubon, Catesby, and Wilson

Birds of the Smokies: The Art of Audubon, Catesby, and Wilson exhibit opens today at the Frank H. McClung Museum as part of the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This new exhibit is of 18th and early 19th century hand colored engravings and lithographs of birds native to the Smokies.

For this Smoky Mountains Event, the McClung Museum has selected hand colored engravings by Mark Catesby (published 1731-1738) and Alexander Wilson (published 1808-1814), and hand colored lithographs by John James Audubon (published 1840-1844) to illustrate many of the birds native to the Great Smoky Mountains. Catesby's prints are the earliest colored depictions of American birds; Alexander Wilson has been called 'the father of American ornithology; and Audubon is famous for his Birds of America. For the Birds of the Smokies: The Art of Audubon, Catesby, and Wilson exhibition, approximately 75 prints will be shown in the Museum's special pull-out exhibit case from now until the end of the year.

According to the most recent census from the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory, at least 246 species of birds have been found in the park. Sixty-one species are year-round residents; and 110 breed in the park, including 52 species from the neo-tropics (a bio-geographic region that includes South America, the West Indies, and tropical North America). Many other species use the park as an important stopover and foraging area during their semiannual migration.

The Frank H. McClung Museum is part of the University of Tennessee. It’s located at 1327 Circle Park Drive in Knoxville. Museum hours are from 9:00A to 5:00P Mon - Sat: and from 1:00P to 5:00P on Sundays. Admission is free. For more information, please call 865-974-2144.

Related Books:

Audubon's Birds Of America
This edition of Audubon's "Birds of America" displays his hand-coloured engravings in reproductions taken from the original plates of the Audubon Society's archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. The book has been re-organized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson. Hardcover - only $10.36.


Catesby's Birds of Colonial America
Here are all the bird illustrations and the entire text of English naturalist Mark Catesby's book, Birds of Colonial America. Catesby used native plants as a background for his birds; his descriptions, made before the era of systematic nomenclature, are augmented by Feduccia and compared to those of other early naturalists. This glimpse of colonial ornithology will attract historians as well as birders. Click here for more information.


A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America
Roger Tory Peterson, one of the world's greatest naturalists, received every major award for ornithology, natural science, and conservation, as well as numerous honorary degrees, medals, and citations, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The Peterson Identification System has been called the greatest invention since binoculars, and the Peterson Field Guides are credited with helping to set the stage for the environmental movement. A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America was the last book Peterson published before dying in 1996. Only $12.87.


Jeff
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