Audubon Aquatint, Towee Bunting

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Towee Bunting, Plate 29.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
39 1/2" x 26 3/4" sheet.

Comparables: Neal Auction Co., 2011 - $3,585; Christie's, 2001 - $3,055.

Provenance: John Vickers Painter's Deckled Collection, with full uncut margins.

"The flight of the Towhe Bunting is short, low, and performed from one bush or spot to another, in a hurried manner, with repeated strong jerks of the tail, and such quick motions of the wings, that one may hear their sound, although the bird should happen to be out of sight. On the ground, where it is more usually to be seen, it hops lightly, without moving the tail more than the Common Sparrow of Europe." - (Audubon's Ornithological Biography, 1831).