Audubon Aquatint Field Sparrow

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Field Sparrow, Plate 139.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
38 3/8” x 25 1/2” sheet.
Comparable: Christie's, 2004 - $4,780.
"It is a social and peaceable bird. When the breeding season is at hand they disperse, move off in pairs, and throw themselves into old pasture grounds, overgrown with low bushes, on the tops of which the males may be heard practising their vocal powers. They usually breed on the ground, at the foot of a small bush or rank weed; but I have also found several of their nests on the lower branches of trees, a foot or two from the ground. The nest is simple, formed chiefly of fine dry grasses, in some instances scantily lined with horse-hair or delicate fibrous roots, much resembling hair. The eggs are from four to six, of a light ferruginous tint, produced by the blending of small dots of that colour. So prolific is this species, that I have observed a pair raise three broods in one summer, the amount of individuals produced being fifteen. The young run after their parents, leaving the nest before they can fly, and are left to shift for themselves ere they are fully fledged; but as they find every where abundance of insects, berries, and small seeds, they contrive to get on without help." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography