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John James Audubon, a well-known American naturalist and artist, is recognized as one of the pioneers of ornithological research in North America. Any book narrating the life and work of a famous scientist like Audubon should balance between their scientific achievements and personal life. Audubon at sea narrates the rarely told stories of Audubon’s explorations of sea birds and coastal biodiversity through a selection of his own chronicles and drawings. At the same time, the authors acknowledge and give a critical perspective about Audubon’s racism, and his rough opinions about Native Americans and slaves. As such, the book provides a refreshing perspective of both a dedicated naturalist and a white, privileged man in XIX-Century North America. The book comprises three sections which, without perfect chronology, give an organized overview of Audubon’s evolution as a scientist and voyager at sea. Section one includes a selection of Audubon’s journals on his first large voyage. Through these stories, one can relate to the excitement of finding novel species and the difficulties getting used to seasickness at high sea. Section two provides a large collection of Audubon’s famous Ornithological Biographies, with detailed description of sea birds’ morphologies, behavior and even the taste of their eggs. Finally, section three shows a seasoned voyager, relatable to any naturalist who has experienced the frustration of e.g. weather conditions hindering successful fieldwork. Throughout the book, I was shocked by the overwhelming amounts of birds shot and eggs collected for both trade and natural collections, and how rare were Audubon’s comments about the visible decline of bird populations. For readers interested in the history of conservation biology and ornithology, Audubon at sea will be helpful to form their opinion about old practices to study birds’ natural history and ecology and to reflect about what we can do to make our work more ethical.
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Ocampo-Ariza, C. Christoph Irmscher and Richard J. King: Audubon at sea: The coastal and transatlantic adventures of John James Audubon. COMMUNITY ECOLOGY 25, 113 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-023-00172-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42974-023-00172-4