John James Audubon (1785-1851) Plate 26: "The Carolina Parrot" From Birds of America. Aquatint engraving with original hand-color. Paper size 39 x 25 1/2 inches, Framed: 37 x 49 1/2 inches. London: Robert Havell, Jr., 1827-1838. Guidance: Christie's, June 25, 2004: $119,500

The engraving of the Carolina Parrot is an exceptionally engaging example of Audubon's work, most particularly because the bird is now extinct. Prized for its exquisite plumage and loathed for its fondness for arable crops and fruit trees, the parakeet stood little chance against the aggressions of man. Indeed, its extinction was looming even during Audubon's time as he was to write: "Our Parakeets are rapidly diminishing in number, and in some districts, where twenty-five years ago they were plentiful, scarcely any are now to be seen." The last of these magnificent birds was seen in 1920 in an almost inaccessible southern swamp in the Florida Everglades.

The male and female of the species are depicted as well as their young. During the first season of life the parrot is completely green and the tail is comparatively short. During the following two years its plumage develops and the male bird grows to a slightly larger size than that of the female. The male parakeet displays a more glorious plumage than its partner but has twelve tail feathers, two less than the female. Audubon's Carolina Parrot is a masterpiece from his illustrious work, Birds of America. It shows the interaction of the flock within there own habitat as they feed, and displays the plumage variations between the ages and sexes.