John James Audubon was an American artist and naturalist best known for his detailed paintings of North American birds. Audubon’s color-plate book The Birds of America (1827–1839), is widely acclaimed ...

Stephen Lewis Detail from the color plate of the bridled weasel, also known as the long-tailed weasel, from Audubon’s book of mammals. Stephen Lewis Detail from the color plate of John James ...

The naturalist and artist John James Audubon called them “glittering fragments of rainbows.” The poet D. H. Lawrence observed, “It is a creature of such fairy-like loveliness to mock all description.” ...