Canada Jay (Elephant folio Plate CVII) Gray Jay, Perisoreus canadensis on Quercus alba, White Oak.

London: Robert Havell. Very Good. 1836. First. Etching. Engraving with etching, aquatint and hand-coloring on J Whatman hand-made paper watermarked 1836. Unusually wide, untrimmed margins showing the pulls from the binder's signatures on the left margin and the original gilt to the top edge. "I have found this species of Jay breeding in the State of Maine, where many individuals belonging to it reside the whole year, and where in fact so many as fifteen or twenty may be seen in the course of a day by a diligent person anxious to procure them. In the winter, their numbers are constantly augmented by those which repair to that country from places (truncated) farther north. They advance to the southward as far as the upper parts of the State of New York.... Now, to my eye, the Canada Jay is as elegant in its movements, whether perched or on wing, as any other of our Jays, although its apparel is certainly very homely. It is joyous and lively at all times, even when, pushed by extreme hunger, it approaches the lonely camp of the traveller, with the hope of obtaining a share, however small, of his perhaps scanty fare. John James Audubon; 35 7/8 x 25 7/8; All shipments through USPS insured Priority Mail. . (Inventory #: 1691)