Printed on the plate
“Chestnut-coloured Finch, Black-headed Siskin, Black crown Bunting, Arctic Ground Finch”
Chestnut-coloured Finch, 1. Male, Spring. | Black-headed Siskin, 2. Old Male. | Black crown Bunting, 3. Adult Male. | Arctic Ground-Finch, 4. Male. 5. Female.
The printed name is now eBird's name for another bird: Black-headed Siskin.
Modern identification
Figure 2. Old Male.
Printed “Black-headed Siskin”
Spinus magellanicus
- Judged
- Finches, Euphonias, and Allies · Fringillidae
Why
Audubon's “Black-headed Siskin” (Fringilla magellanica, fig. 2), one of two males he shot at Henderson, Kentucky, is a Hooded Siskin of unknown origin: his measurements give a wing and tail too long and a bill too short for the Mexican Black-headed Siskin, and the AOU Check-list (1998) lists his specimen under the Hooded Siskin. NYHS's Black-headed Siskin follows the AOU's 1886 list
Sources
engraved legend; Audubon, Ornithological Biography v (1839); Ridgway, Birds of North and Middle America i (1901); Hellmayr, Catalogue of Birds of the Americas xi (1938); AOU Check-list of North American Birds, 7th ed. (1998)
Figure 1. Male, Spring.
Printed “Chestnut-coloured Finch”
Calcarius ornatus
- Certain
- Longspurs and Snow Buntings · Calcariidae
Why
Audubon's “Chestnut-coloured Finch” (Plectrophanes ornata, fig. 1) is today's Chestnut-collared Longspur
Sources
Featherframe havell.yaml; plate title from audubon.org; New-York Historical Society; Wikimedia Commons; Boston Public Library (Digital Commonwealth)
Figure 3. Adult Male.
Printed “Black crown Bunting”
Zonotrichia atricapilla
- Certain
- New World Sparrows · Passerellidae
Why
Audubon's “Black crown Bunting” (Emberiza atricapilla, fig. 3) is today's Golden-crowned Sparrow
Sources
Featherframe havell.yaml; plate title from audubon.org; New-York Historical Society; Wikimedia Commons; Boston Public Library (Digital Commonwealth)
Figure 4. Male. 5. Female.
Printed “Arctic Ground Finch”
Pipilo maculatus
- Certain
- New World Sparrows · Passerellidae
Why
Audubon's “Arctic Ground Finch” (Pipilo arctica, figs. 4–5) is today's Spotted Towhee; NYHS's Eastern Towhee is the pre-split Rufous-sided Towhee
Sources
Featherframe havell.yaml; plate title from audubon.org; Wikimedia Commons; New-York Historical Society; Boston Public Library (Digital Commonwealth)
Who made the plate
Drawn from Nature by J. J. Audubon, F. R. S. F. L. S.Engraved, Printed and Coloured, by R. Havell, 1837.
- John James Audubon drew
- Robert Havell Jr. engraved, printed and coloured
As the credit line gives it. More on who made these plates.
