John James Audubon. Gregory Nobles

one who had come earlier—the late author of American Ornithology. Alexander Wilson’s work stood as the most comprehensive and authoritative work on American ornithology to date, and before Audubon could hope to surpass it, he had to see it. He frequently looked to Wilson’s work for corroborating his own observations, but even more, he took quiet pleasure in correcting any errors or omissions he found in American Ornithology.