One of the most revered names in birding would have to be John James Audubon. Today, there are numerous birding societies and a national magazine named in his honor.
He was born in 1785 as Jean Rabin, the son of a French plantation owner and a Creole French maid. His place of birth was Haiti, but he was raised mostly in France and came to the United States at age 18 to avoid conscription in the Napoleonic Wars.
John James combined artistic talent with a passion for nature, especially birds, and he set out to paint all the American bird species. He shot and collected his own specimens, preparing them and arranging them in lifelike poses for sketching and painting.
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