Bachman's Warbler

This painting by Charles Fracé is of the Bachman's warbler. The species was one of the rarest songbirds in North America. Sightings were so uncommon that the species may have already been extinct at the time it was listed under the Endangered Species Preservation Act (a forerunner to the modern Endangered Species Act), just three years before Fracé made this painting. After decades of thorough searching, the species was declared extinct by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This painting is one of over 3,000 small-scale watercolors commissioned by the National Wildlife Federation and used for their conservation stamps. The stamps were produced from the 1930s-1990s to promote the mission and work of the National Wildlife Federation.