FLORIDA KEYS BEST

A Guide to John Audubon's visit to the Florida Keys

CLICK image Above for LODGING Hotels and motels Florida Keys and Key West       AUDUBON IN THE FLORIDA KEYS     INDEX    AUDUBON INDIAN KEY 1832 CORMORANT ROSEATE TERN GRAY KINGBIRD REDDISH EGRET LOUISIANA HERON SANDY KEY WHITE IBIS WILLET   ZENAIDA DOVE WHITE CROWNED PIGEON THE AUDUBON HOUSE IN KEY WEST AUDUBON'S KEY WEST KEY WEST AFTER AUDUBON ROSEATE SPOONBILL GREAT WHITE HERON GREAT BLUE HERON KEY WEST DOVE FLAMINGOS BLUE- HEADED QUAIL DOVE FRIGATE BIRD BROWN PELICAN MANGROVE CUCKOO TORTUGAS SOOTY TERN BLACK HEADED GULL BROWN NODDY CAYENNE TERN BROWN BOOBY SANDWICH TERN NIGHT HERON GREENSHANK GREAT MARBLED GODWIT MANGO HUMMING- BIRD TROPIC BIRD BIRDING LODGING ONLINE STORE   BOOK ORDERS AUDUBON PRINTS NATURALIST PHOTOS     FLORIDA KEYS BEST INDEX KIDS IN THE KEYS LINKS FAMILIES IN THE FLORIDA KEYS COMPANION SITE - DUCK KEY ONLINE     BIRD LINKS

John Audubon observes the Common Greenshank     May 28, 1832 - At Sandy Key, Audubon states he shoot three Common Greenshank. Some believe that Audubon saw a Greater Yellowlegs rather than a Greenshank. This species has not been seen in the Florida Keys since Audubon's sighting, and has been placed on the Hypothetical List, the Check-list of North American Birds established by the American Ornithological Union. indicating that Audubon's record of observation of this species is 'unsatisfactory.'   Greenshank (Common Greenshank)   Above image from Historical Museum of Southern Florida - Audubon images at the Historical Museum website were produced from prints of an original Elephant Folio belonging to the museum. http://www.historical-museum.org/collect/audubon/audubon.htm) See Audubon House     This painting by Audubon showing the Common Greenshank with the Castillo de San Marcos of St. Augustine in the background is thought to have been painted in 1835. Audubon incorporated into his print the view of the historic Spanish fortress from a 1831 sketch by Lehman. Part of what Audubon writes in his Ornithological Biography, Volume. III, pages 4483 appears below:   "While on Sand Key [Sandy Key], which is about six miles distant from Cape Sable ..., I shot three birds of this species on the 28th of May 1832. I had first supposed them to be Tell-tale Godwits, as they walked on the bars and into the shallows much in the same manner, and, on obtaining them, imagined they were new; but on shewing (showing) them to my assistant Mr. Ward, who was acquainted with the Greenshank of Europe, he pronounced them to be the species, and I have since ascertained the fact by a comparison of specimens. They were all male birds, and I observed no material difference in their plumage . We did not find any afterwards . . . "                        THIS PAGE CREATED BY FLORIDA KEYS BEST COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL http://www.floridakeysbest.com site map email@floridakeysbest.com Florida Keys Best 386 East Seaview Drive Marathon, Florida 33050 305-289-1872