Orchard Oriole Fine Art Bird Print by John James Audubon

An archival premium Quality art Print of the Orchard Oriole by John James Audubon for sale by Brandywine General Store. The artwork shows a flock of the small songbirds setting in a branch of a honey locust tree, being a male in the 1st year of life, a male in 2nd year of life, an adult male in its full color and a female. All are setting around a nest in the tree. The honey locust was described as having a wood that is brittle and seldom used, the trunk and branches are frequently covered with innumerable long, sharp, and extremely hard spines, while the spines are made use of by tobacconists for the purpose of fastening together the different twists of their rolls. Mr. Audubon drew these migratory birds for his book The Birds of America, these were plate or picture number 42 in the 1st Havell edition. The Orchard Orioles were described in the book thus "The plumage of the young birds of this species, when they leave the nest, resembles that of the female parent, although rather less decided in point of colouring, and both males and females retain this colour until the approach of the following spring, when the former exhibit a portion of black on the chin, the females never altering. In birds kept in cages, this portion of black remains without farther augmentation for two years; but in those which are at liberty, a curious mixture of dull orange or deep chestnut peeps out through a considerable increase of black-coloured feathers over the body and wings, intermixed with the yellowish-green hue which the bird had when it left the nest. The third spring brings him nearer towards perfection, as at that time the deep chestnut colour has taken possession of the lower parts, the black has deepened on the upper parts, and over the whole head, as well as on the whigs and tail-feathers. Yet the garb with which it is ultimately to be covered requires another return of spring before it is completed, after which it remains as exhibited in the adult male, represented in the plate. The migration of the Orchard Oriole from south to north is performed by day, and singly, as is that of its relative the Baltimore Oriole, the males appearing a week or ten days sooner than the females. Their flight is lower than that of the Baltimore, and considerably shorter in its continuance, the Orchard Oriole alighting more frequently on the tops of the trees, to rest or to feed. They exhibit a greater repetition of motions of the wings, although sliding through the air for a few yards only at a time, and whilst about to alight, as well as afterwards, perform strong and well marked jettings of the tail. This the Baltimore seldom does. No sooner have they reached the portion of the country in which they intend to remain during the time of raising their young, than these birds exhibit all the liveliness and vivacity belonging to their nature. ..." Audubon bird print #42