top of page
Search
Ben Leese

Robbing Audubon

While putting the finishing touches on an updated and expanded list of specimens of the Imperial Woodpecker (Campephilus imperialis), one of my co-authors found this gem (Reichenbach, H. G. L. 1854. Vollständigste Naturgeschichte. Scansociae. C. Picinae. Friedrich Hofmeister, Leipzig.) with an image in it that might be of a syntype of the Imperial Woodpecker. As I glanced through the illustrations, they looked very familiar. Most of the American species illustrated were actually just bad copies from John James Audubon's Birds of America.


In what follows, Audubon is always on the left and Reichenbach is always on the right.


Here, Reichenbach or his illustrator simply mirrors Audubon's Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) plate:






Reichenbach's Red headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) is just Audubon's rotated slightly vertically:




Audubon's bottom, left Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) is simply mirrored by Reichenbach, and the top Ivory-bill is rotated 90 degress clockwise:





And last, Audubon's left Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) is again simply mirrored by Reichenbach, and the upper bird is mirrored AND rotated 90 degress counterclockwise:




I don't read German well enough to assess if Reichenbach acknowledged his visual theft from Audubon or not, but the images are clearly borrowed. I don't know where he may have borrowed his Imperial Woodpecker from or if he actually had a mount at hand, but I have my doubts.


Audubon was not immune to a little stealing himself, as his famous Washington's Eagle was clearly a theft also.

7 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Commentaires


bottom of page