Plate 236, Night Heron or Qua Bird, Adrea Nycticorax

One of the species painted by the great American naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851), these black-crowned night herons appear in one of the few surviving folios of Audubon’s work. Born in Saint Domingue (now the country of Haiti) as the illegitimate son of a French captain’s mistress, Audubon was raised in France. He migrated to America in 1803 to avoid being conscripted into Napoleon’s army. It was in America that Audubon’s passion for birds flourished. Following his arrival to the United States, the young John James conducted the first ever bird-banding experiment, tracking the nesting patterns of Eastern Phoebes to discover that they return to the same breeding site each year.

After a short stint in jail for bankruptcy in 1819, Audubon set off on his first birding expedition. In his travels along the Mississippi River Audubon developed the style that has made his work so iconic, capturing the vitality of America’s wildlife. He took his paintings to England in 1826, a trip that catapulted him to overnight success. This image comes from a copper-plate engraving created for Audubon by Robert Havell sometime between 1828 and 1838.

Audubon labelled this bird as the “Night Heron or Qua Bird,” a name that has since changed to the “Black-crowned night heron” to distinguish it from its relative, the Yellow-crowned night heron. A wide-ranging species, the Black-crowned night heron can be found from southern Canada to Northern Brazil. It usually feeds on a variety of invertebrates and fish. Audubon’s work laid much of the foundation for modern ornithology and conservation, expanding knowledge of natural history and beginning concern for the the welfare of wildlife.