Audubon Aquatint Yellow Red Poll Warlber

AUDUBON, John James (1785 - 1851).
Yellow Red Poll or Palm Warbler, Plate 163.
Aquatint engraving with original hand color.
London: Robert Havell, 1827-1838.
38 3/8” x 25 1/2” sheet.
Comparable: Christie's, 2004 - $2,629.
"As soon as the welcome note of the Purple Martin is heard in spring, on its return to the United States, which, in Louisiana, sometimes takes place early in March, the little Warbler here presented to your inspection follows, and is seen gaily moving from tree to tree, feeding on the smaller insects, and tuning its pipe, which, however, is not the most melodious. It approaches the gardens and orange-groves, and again flies off to the willows, along the margins of the pools and lagoons. Its sojourn is of short duration in Louisiana, for it moves gradually eastward as the season advances. Its migration, in as far as I have been able to ascertain, is principally performed during the night. I have observed many in the course of one day in a place, which, next day, if the weather had become warm, scarcely contained a single individual. I have seen many of these birds, as well as their nests, on the Genessee river; but in the States of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, they may be found in every orchard and garden, and even in the streets, among the foliage of our trees." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography.