www.TheOldSchoolhouse.com
• In later years, he used assistants to
paint the habitat.
Audubon continued with
Ornithological Biographies,;a;sequel;to;Birds of America that included life histories of each bird
species. It was a collaborative work with
a Scottish ornithologist. He also made
several exploratory expeditions in search
of bird species he had previously missed.
His;final;work;on;mammals,;Viviparous
Quadrupeds of North America was also
in collaboration with a friend who wrote
much of the text.
Roger Tory Peterson
Roger Tory Peterson is one of the twen-tieth;century’s;most;notable;artists,;natu-ralists,;and;ornithologists;who;created;a
series;of;field;guides,;beginning;with;A
Field Guide to the Birds
,;which;was;pub-lished in 1934.
He started working in a mill at age
10;after;the;death;of;his;father.;He;was
later encouraged by a teacher to join a Ju-
nior;Audubon;Club;in;Jamestown,;New
York,;when;he;was;in;the;seventh;grade,
where he immediately became absorbed
in identifying and studying each species
of birds. His first article about birds was
published at the age of 17 in Bird-Lore
Magazine.;After;high;school;he;received
an education in art and continued to
study birds at the same time. He became
a science and art teacher at the Riv-
ers;School;in;Brookline,;Massachusetts,
where he shared his love of bird watching
with his students.
He developed the Peterson Identifica-
tion System in his field guides to pro-
vide a practical way of identifying birds
in the wild with a clear description and
illustration of the bird’s markings. Bird
watching has become a popular activ-
ity;as;a;result;of;Peterson’s;field;guides,
which make identification accessible
to the average person. He continued to
photograph,;illustrate,;and;document;the
natural;history;of;a;variety;of;bird,;plant,
and;animal;life,;and;has;been;decorated
with many awards and honorary doctor-
ates from numerous universities.
Modern reprints of Birds of America
(Audubon’s Birds of America) and A
Field Guide to the Birds are available in
your local library. While the reprint of
Audubon’s;work;is;not;full;size,;you;will
not be disappointed as you leaf through
the large formatted book and appreci-
ate his life’s work. You may want to pick
up your own copy of one of Roger Tory
Peterson’s field guides and start your
own adventure into the world of birds.
Cathy Diez-Luckie, author and illustrator at Figures In Motion, is thankful for
being able to educate her three children
at home and loves to study history and
literature along with them. Her award-winning children’s book series (Famous
Figures) integrates art and history and
engages children with hands-on activities
and movable action figures as they learn
about the great leaders of the past. www
. FiguresInMotion.com
John James Audubon’s Birds of America;became;his;great;endeavor,;and;he
determined to paint one page each day.
