Purple Martin Fine Art Bird Print by John James Audubon

An archival premium quality art print of the Purple Martin by John James Audubon for sale by Brandywine General Store. This is picture or plate number 22 in his great ornithology book The Birds of America. This drawing by Audubon, from the first Havell edition of the book, shows a group of four male and female purple martins in nests of dried Calabash pumpkins or squash, but look more like dried gourds. Hirundo Purpurea - Audubon says the following about the purple martin "The Purple Martin makes its appearance in the City of New Orleans from the 1st to the 9th of February, occasionally a few days earlier than the first of these dates, and is then to be seen gambolling through the air, over the city and the river, feeding on many sorts of insects, which are there found in abundance at that period. It frequently rears three broods whilst with us. I have had several opportunities, at the period of their arrival, of seeing prodigious flocks moving over that city or its vicinity, at a considerable height, each bird performing circular sweeps as it proceeded, for the purpose of procuring food. These flocks were loose, and moved either eastward, or towards the north-west, at a rate not exceeding four miles in the hour, as I walked under one of them with ease for upwards of two miles, at that rate, on the 4th of February, 1821, on the bank of the river below the city, constantly looking up at the birds, to the great astonishment of many passengers, who were bent on far different pursuits. At St. Genevieve, in the State of Missouri, they seldom arrive before the 10th or 15th of April, and sometimes suffer from unexpected returns of frost. At Philadelphia, they are first seen about the 10th of April. They reach Boston about the 25th, and continue their migration much farther north, as the spring continues to open. Audubon Bird print #22