Fish Hawk or Osprey by John James Audubon art print

An archival premium Quality art Print of the Fish Hawk or Osprey by John James Audubon for sale by Brandywine General Store. The artwork features a large male osprey flying over a bay or estuary clutching a fish in his talons. Mr. Audubon calls this a weak fish, which today is also known as a sea or grey trout, tiderunner or drummer fish. The example in this picture weighed approximately 5 pounds and Mr. Audubon says in the complete description of this bird that it carried the 5 pound weakfish into the air with great difficulty, but held on to it until shots were fired at the osprey upon which he dropped the fish into the waters. This large raptor bird was plate or picture number 81 in the first Havell edition of the great ornithology book, The Birds of America, which was published by Audubon in the first third of the 19th century. I have taken the liberty of adding the blue to the sky in this painting as the original white sky has yellowed considerably over the years. Falco Haliaetus - Mr. Audubon describes the fish hawk or osprey thus "The habits of this famed bird differ so materially from those of almost all others of its genus, that an accurate description of them cannot fail to be highly interesting to the student of nature. The Fish Hawk may be looked upon as having more of a social disposition than most other Hawks. Indeed, with the exception of the Swallow-tailed Hawk (Falco furcatus), I know none so gregarious in its habits. It migrates in numbers, both during spring, when it shews itself along our Atlantic shores, lakes, and rivers, and during autumn, when it retires to warmer climes. At these seasons, it appears in flocks of eight or ten individuals, following the windings of our shores in loose bodies, advancing in easy sailings or flappings, crossing each other in their gyrations. During the period of their stay in the United States, many pairs are seen nestling, rearing their young, and seeking their food within so short a distance of each other, that while following the margins of our eastern shores, a Fish Hawk, or a nest belonging to the species, may be met with at every short interval. Audubon bird print #81