Audubon Aquatint Bay Winged Bunting or Grass Finch

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Grass Finch or Bay-Winged Bunting, Plate 94.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
38 5/8” x 25 1/2” sheet.
Comparable: Neal Auction Co., 2010 - $2,270.
"This species extends its migrations to the shores of the Columbia river, where it was procured by Dr. TOWNSEND; and it is mentioned by Dr. RICHARDSON as one of the birds that reach the prairies of the Saskatchewan early in May, to depart in September. In these distant localities it breeds on the ground, as it is wont to do in our own Middle Districts, as far south as Maryland. During winter it is found in astonishing numbers about all the old fields in South Carolina, Georgia, the Floridas, and Alabama. The eggs measure seven-eighths of an inch in length, seven-twelfths in breadth, with a bluish-white ground, almost entirely covered with undefined markings of pale reddish-brown, more closely set towards the larger end; but they vary much, some being almost white. I have found many nests of this species on Chelsea Beach, in July and August." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography.