Giclee reprint of an original lithograph from Volume I of Charles Lucius Bonaparte’s American Ornithology published in Philadelphia in 1825

American Ornithology; or, The Natural History of Birds Inhabiting the United States Not Given by Wilson is a seminal four-volume work published between 1825 and 1833 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Writing under his Americanized credit name, Bonaparte designed this masterpiece as a direct, high-end supplement to update and complete Alexander Wilson’s earlier foundational survey of North American birds.

Alexander Wilson is widely revered as the "Father of American Ornithology," but his sudden death left his pioneering multi-volume catalog incomplete. Bonaparte—the nephew of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte—stepped in during his residency in Philadelphia to systematically document all the new species discovered after Wilson's passing.

Bonaparte brought a higher level of European scientific rigor to the United States. While Wilson focused primarily on vibrant field biographies, Bonaparte updated the work using strict, modern binomial nomenclature conventions that helped bridge American field discoveries with international museum networks

The vast majority of the 27 beautifully detailed, hand-colored copper plates were drawn from wilderness specimens by the celebrated American artist and explorer Titian Ramsay Peale.

The Wild Turkey plate is widely considered the crowning jewel and most famous illustration in Volume 1 (1825) of Charles Lucien Bonaparte's American Ornithology

The Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is a remarkably fast, intelligent, and resilient bird native exclusively to North America. Despite their heavy, bulky appearance, wild turkeys possess impressive athletic traits: They can run up to 25 mph and fly in short bursts up to 55 mph. They spend their days foraging on the ground but fly up into tall tree canopies at night to sleep safely away from predators. The domestic turkeys raised on farms are direct descendants of a Mexican subspecies of wild turkey. However, centuries of selective breeding have created drastic differences. Farm turkeys are bred to have massive breast muscles for meat. This extra weight makes them completely unable to fly or mate naturally, whereas wild turkeys are agile, lean, and highly capable flyers