Plate 161 Brasilian Caracara Eagle 

Here we see John James Audubon's "Brasilian Caracara Eagle", an engraving with etching and aquatint. Audubon, born in Haiti and raised in France, migrated to the United States, where he developed his romantic and ambitious project: to document all the birds of North America. His identity as a birder and artist complicates notions of American identity during a time of westward expansion, nationalism, and debates about slavery. Consider the history of ornithology and natural history illustration in the context of colonialism. How does representing the natural world intersect with claiming territory and defining national identity? Here, the birds are given a kind of individuality; they are presented as characters locked in an emotional battle. Audubon sought to portray nature with scientific accuracy, but his work is also infused with drama and emotion. "I wish you would study Nature more than books," he wrote, "for there is more to be learned in one single day, than can be glutted from musty volumes." This piece invites us to reflect on the entangled relationship between humans and the natural world, and how our understanding of nature is shaped by cultural and historical forces.