Printed on the plate
“Havell's Tern and Trudeau's Tern”
Havell's Tern, 1. | Trudeau's Tern, 2.
Modern identification
Figure 1.
Printed “Havell's Tern”
Sterna forsteri
- Certain
- A variant
- Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers · Laridae
Why
Audubon's “Havell's Tern” (Sterna havelli, fig. 1) is a Forster's Tern in winter plumage, which he described as a new species; he has no other Forster's Tern plate.
Sources
Featherframe havell.yaml; plate title and legend from audubon.org; Audubon, Ornithological Biography v (1839)
Figure 2.
Printed “Trudeau's Tern”
Sterna trudeaui
- Certain
- Gulls, Terns, and Skimmers · Laridae
Why
Audubon's “Trudeau's Tern” is the type figure of Sterna trudeaui, today's Snowy-crowned Tern: grey below like the back, white head with a dark band through the eye, bill black with yellow base and tip; its New Jersey provenance is doubted, not the bird
Sources
plate title and legend from audubon.org; Audubon, Ornithological Biography v (1839); Wikispecies (pl. 409 fig. 2 is the original description)
Who made the plate
Drawn from Nature by J. J. Audubon. F. R. S. F. L. S.Engraved. Printed and Coloured by Robt. Havell. 1838.
- John James Audubon drew
- Robert Havell Jr. engraved, printed and coloured
As the credit line gives it. More on who made these plates.
