Audubon Aquatint Razor-Billed Auk

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Razor-Billed Auk, Plate 214.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
38 1/2” x 25 5/8” sheet.
Comparable: Guernsey's, 2013 - $2,745.
"A few birds of this species occasionally go as far south as New York during winter; but beyond that parallel I never met with one. From Boston eastward many are seen, and some breed on the Seal Islands off the entrance of the Bay of Fundy. These Auks generally arrive on our Atlantic coast about the beginning of November, and return northward to breed about the middle of April. During their stay with us, they are generally seen singly. and at a greater distance from the shores than the Guillemots or Puffins; and I have no doubt that they are able to procure shell-fish at greater depths than these birds. I have observed them fishing on banks where the bottom was fifteen or eighteen fathoms from the surface, and, from the length of time that they remained under water, felt no doubt that they dived to it." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography.