John James Audubon's works formed the basis of much of the 19th-century public's knowledge of North American animals. An artist and self-taught naturalist, Audubon drew birds in their native habitats in poses suggestive of sudden movement--an approach notably different from the stiff poses characterizing earlier bird guides.

The Birds of North America was first published as a very large folio edition, known as a "double elephant," in 1827-38. It was republished many times and in many sizes during Audubon's lifetime, including this smaller octavo-sized edition.