Plate 62. Passenger Pigeon 

This is John James Audubon’s ‘Passenger Pigeon,’ an early 19th-century etching with aquatint. The image captures two pigeons perched intimately on a branch, their beaks touching. Pigeons, doves, symbols of peace and love. The intimate posture echoes images of lovers throughout art history. Yet here, the Passenger Pigeon evokes a particular unease: not long after this depiction, the species was extinct, a victim of human expansion. We can consider how this image's emotional tone shifts dramatically when viewed through our knowledge of this extinction. We see how an emblem of love transforms into a potent symbol of loss and human impact. It is a stark reminder of how symbols evolve, shaped by history and our collective memory of the natural world. It reminds us that our perception of nature, of love, is ever-changing, imbued with both hope and the haunting shadow of what we have lost.