Audubonia Bonaparte, 1855 and others (1 Viewer)

[Taphrospilus]

Audubonia Bonaparte, 1855 OD t.1-2; Index (1850-1865) - Conspectus generum avium - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Catharus guttatus auduboni (Baird, SF 1864) OD Review of American birds in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution: pt. 1 - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Falco auduboni Blackwell, 1834 OD Researches in zoology, illustrative of the manners and economy of animals : Blackwall, John, 1790-1881. no2006063105 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

I have dedicated this species to J. J. Audubon, esq.; the celebrated author of the Ornithological Biography; whose splendid illustrations of the Birds of America, to use the words of the illustrious Cuvier, ....

Fulmarus glacialis auduboni Bonaparte, 1855 OD t.1-2; Index (1850-1865) - Conspectus generum avium - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Phoebetria palpebrata auduboni Nichols & Murphy, 1914 https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v031n04/p0526-p0534.pdf

New name Diomedea fusca Audubon, Orn. Biogr., V ., p. 116, 1839.

Puffinus auduboni Finch, 1872 OD 1872 - Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Setophaga auduboni (Townsend, 1837) OD v.7 (1834-1837) - Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Tringa audubonii Nuttall, 1834 OD 2, Water Birds - A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Caracara plancus audubonii (Cassin, 1865) OD v.17 (1865) - Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Leuconotopicus villosus audubonii (Swainson, 1832) OD pt.2 (1831) - Fauna boreali-americana, or, The zoology of the northern parts of British America - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Icterus graduacauda audubonii Giraud, Jr 1841OD A description of sixteen new species of North American birds - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Cygnus audubonii Blyth 1840 OD Cuvier's Animal kingdom - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Grus audubonii Nuttall, 1834 OD 2, Water Birds - A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada - Biodiversity Heritage Library in context with index 2, Water Birds - A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada - Biodiversity Heritage Library

Potential additional names:
Anas auduboni Bonaparte, 1838 OD A geographical and comparative list of the birds of Europe and North America - Biodiversity Heritage Library Syn: Anas platyrhynchos???
Emberiza auduboni Dean1909 https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v026n03/p0269-p0272.pdf Syn: Spiza townsendi???
Picus auduboni Trudeau, 1837 OD v.7 (1834-1837) - Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia - Biodiversity Heritage Library as well Leuconotopicus villosus?? (priority issue)

The Eponym Dictionary of Birds

A comprehensive dictionary listing all the people whose names are commemorated in the English and scientific names of birds.Birdwatchers often come across bird names that include a person's name, either in the vernacular (English) name or latinised in the scientific nomenclature. Such names are...

books.google.de

Audubonia Bonaparte, 1855 NCR [Now in Ardea]
Audubon's Warbler Dendroica auduboni Townsend, 1837 [Syn. Dendroica coronata auduboni]
Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus lherminieri Lesson, 1839
Audubon's Woodpecker Picoides villosus audubonii Swainson, 1832 [Alt. Hairy Woodpecker ssp.]
Audubon's Oriole Icterus graduacauda audubonii Giraud, 1841
Northern Fulmar ssp. Fulmarus glacialis auduboni Bonaparte, 1857
Audubon's Hermit Thrush Catharus guttatus auduboni Baird, 1864
Audubon's Caracara ssp. Caracara cheriway audubonii Cassin, 1865 [Alt. Northern Caracara ssp.; (C. cheriway often regarded as monotypic)]
John James Laforest Audubon (1785–1851) is remembered as the father of US ornithology. He gave several different accounts of his birth, but was the son of a French Naval Captain and a French girl who worked at his sugar plantation in San Domingo (Haiti). Audubon's real mother died within a short time of his birth, so his natural father took him back to France where he was adopted by Captain Audubon and his legal wife. Captain Audubon sent him (1803) to manage his plantation near Philadelphia to avoid conscription into Napoleon's army, where he became an citizen (1812). In Philadelphia, Audubon met and married Lucy, whose support was critical in achieving his success. He succeeded only because he went to England (1826) where his work was appreciated and subscribers made possible the long publication of his 435 prints (1826–1838). Audubon also wrote (1830s) his Ornithological Biography, which describes thehabitsof the birds hedrew.Audubon made atripto North America (1843), hislast great adventure prior to hisdeath. He spent weeks inthe woods studying birds and mammals; and his spectacular drawings, which were criticised as overimaginative by some, were scenes he actually witnessed. There are many extensive works about Audubon from which those interested can get a fuller picture of the greatman, but a lesser known fact about Audubon was his predilection for eating many of the birds he shot for their skins. For example, he described a Hermit Thrush as 'very fat and delicate eating' and that 'twenty six starlings made a good and delicate supper' whereas grebes were 'extremely fishy, rancid and fat'. Two mammals are also named after him.

The Key to Scientific Names - Birds of the World

Species accounts for all the birds of the world.

birdsoftheworld.org

auduboni
John James Laforest Audubon (1785-1851) French/US pioneer naturalist, artist (pub. The Birds of America 1827/38 (double elephant); Ornithological biography 1831/39; A synopsis of the birds of North America 1839; The birds of America 1840/44 (royal 8vo)) (subsp. Catharus guttatus, syn. Falco columbarius, subsp. Fulmarus glacialis, syn. Phoebetria palpebrata, syn. Puffinus lherminieri, subsp. Setophaga coronata).

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Audubonia
(Ardeidae; syn. Ardea † Great Blue Heron A. herodias occidentalis) John James Laforest Audubon (1785-1851) French/US pioneer naturalist, artist; "*110. Audubonia, Bp. (Ardea, part. Gr. - Herodias, part. Aliq. - Egretta, part. Caban.) Corpus minus castigatum, gravius: collum elongatum: rostrum productum, robustissimum, parum conmpressum: pedes crassi. Color candidus. Statura maxima. Am. calid. 1. ARDEA occidentalis, Audubon. (Herodias occidentalis, Gr. - Egretta occidentalis, hinc Audubonia occidentalis, Bp.) Am B. t. 281." (Bonaparte 1855 (Conspectus (Febr.))); "ARDEEÆ. ... 23. Audubonia, Bp. 67. occidentalis, Aud." (Bonaparte 1855 (Comptes Rend.)); "Audubonia Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. Acad. Sci. Paris, 40, No. 14, p. 722, April, 1855—type, by monotypy, Ardea occidentalis Audubon." (Hellmayr and Conover, 1948, Cat. Birds Americas, Pt. I (2), p. 166).


audubonii
John James Laforest Audubon (1785-1851) French/US pioneer naturalist, entrepreneur, collector, artist (syn. Antigone canadensis, syn. Calidris himantopus, subsp. Caracara plancus, syn. Cygnus columbianus, subsp. Dryobates villosus, subsp. Icterus graduacauda).

Björn recently reported that Mearns & Mearns 2022 have him as:

Mearns & Mearns: [Vol. 1: 23–24] John James Audubon (1785–1851), ... "... needs little introduction. ..."

So two questions regading:
1) Is there really an additional name Laforest or La Forest as often claimed?
2) And here his birth is written as The Audubon Magazine or The Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist

The naturalist was born on his father's plantation, near New Orleans , Louisiana , May 4th , 1780,....

I understood:

He gave several different accounts of his birth, but was the son of a French Naval Captain and a French girl who worked at his sugar plantation in San Domingo (Haiti)

So why can we be that sure that he was born 26. April 1785 in Les Cayes, Haiti? And born as Jean Rabin April 26 — John James Audubon Born (1785) – Today in Conservation ? Found as well:

Jean-Jacques Rabin (1785–1851), born in Les Cayes, St. Domingue, took “Jean-Jacques Fougère Audubon” as his legal name.

P.S. The mammals:
Ovis canadensis auduboni Merriam, 1901 OD v.14 (1901) - Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington - Biodiversity Heritage Library
Sylvilagus audubonii (Baird, 1858) OD v.8=pt.1 (1853-1857) - Reports of explorations and surveys - Biodiversity Heritage Library

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Just like Martin ('Taphrospilus') I'm curious about Audubon, the World famous Naturalist, and Artist, of which it has been written kilometers of Books and Papers (and as such one would expect that nothing remains to be questioned about him) ...

For example, in the Chapter about Audubon (by Roberta J. M. Olson), in the (as far as I can tell very trustworthy) Book The Great Naturalists, 2007[*], where we're told [my blue and bold]:

John James Audubon
ARTIST, NATURALIST AND ADVENTURER
(1785–1851)​

[...]

Born the illegitimate son of a French sea captain in Saint Domingue, Audubon (his Father's name) was first named Jean Rabine after his mother. When he was three, his father sent him to France, where he was renamed Jean-Jacques Fougère (fern) – to placate the French revolutionary authorities and to help disguise his illegitimacy (he was legally adopted in 1794). It was there he began drawing birds. In 1803 he left France, in order both to oversee the family’s property at Mill Grove, Pennsylvania, and to avoid conscription into Napoleon’s army. Upon arrival in America, he immediately identified with its wildlife, becoming a champion of his adopted country and a citizen in 1812. Uninterested in practical affairs. Audubon hunted and drew birds, ... and the rest is Ornithological History

But, of course, it doesn't explain the "Laforest" part of his alleged full name (in the Key) ... ?!?

Does anyone know the story behind it?

This far, at this point, in my MS (of Swedish Common/Vernacular Bird names), I have him as nothing but:

John James Audubon (1785–1851), one of the Giants in American Ornithology ...

... commemorated in:

• audubonlira (Audubon's Shearwater) Puffinus lherminieri Lesson 1839, ex "Puffinus obscurus", Audubon
• audubontrupial (Audubon's Oriole) Icterus graduacauda (Townsend, 1837) , ex "Audubon’s Oriole Icterus Audubonii" (Giraud [jr.], 1841)
• and the hard-to place species (earlier ssp.) audubonskogssångare (Audubon's Warbler) [Sylvia/Dendraeca/Dendroica] Setophaga (coronata) auduboni (Townsend, 1837) [a k a Audubons skogssångare, in Swedish]

Grateful for any help on this one ...

Björn

PS. Also note that the English name Audubon's Shearwater (historically, over the years) has been used on at least eleven (!) different taxa (even if today all closely related), which call for some caution when reading about it/them in older texts/Books.

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*Huxley, R (Ed). 2007. The Great Naturalists. Thames and Hudson, in association with the Natural History Museum, London.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

For what it's worth, note that the looong and detailed entry about him in today's (English) Wikipedia (here) has him as:

John James Audubon​

John James Audubon (born Jean-Jacques Rabin, April 26, 1785 – January 27, 1851) was a French-American self-trained, artist, naturalist, and ornithologist. ...
[...]
Early Life
Audubon was born in Les Cayes in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) on his father's sugarcane plantation. He was the son of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, a French naval officer (and privateer) from the south of Brittany and his mistress, Jeanne Rabine, a 27-year-old chambermaid from Les Touches, Brittany (now in the modern region Pays de la Loire. They named him Jean Rabin. Another 1887 biographer has stated ...

[Note, all various references, and links, are excluded in the quote above]

However, I will check Mearns & Mearns (2022) again, later today, and check if they have anything additional to tell, hopefully something elucidatory (in whatever part/s).

– To be continued –​

 

[James Jobling]

Thanks for introducing this thread, Martin.

Emberiza auduboni is a MS name for Spiza townsendi, an extinct probable hybrid.

Anas auduboni Bonaparte, 1838, is interesting, because of its link to the Bimaculated or Bemaculated Duck, another hybrid of questionable parentage (?Anas platyrhynchos x Mareca strepera (Low, 2002, Guide to Audubon’s Birds of America, p. 172; ?Melanitta deglandi x Melanitta perspicillata (Hellmayr, 1948, Cat. Birds Americas,pt. 1 (2), p. 393; although this refers to a later Fuligula bimaculata Herbert, 1848); of an even later date Querquedula bimaculata Fritsch, 1870 = Anas glocitans Pallas, 1779 = Anas formosa Georgi, 1775 (Hartert, 1920, Vögel Pal. Fauna, II, p. 1316). Salvadori, 1895, Cat. Birds British Mus., XXVII, p. 193, links Anas auduboni Bonaparte, 1838, with Anas breweri Audubon, 1838, a hybrid Anas platyrhynchos x Mareca strepera.

Re Audubon’s forenames, I was originally (pre 1990) influenced by Wynne,1969, Biographical Key, p. 11, who gave “J. J. L. Audubon”. I obviously found Laforest somewhere, but have lost/mislaid/forgotten the reference. For the time being I shall keep it – everybody knows the name!

 

[PScofield]

According to wikitree: In 1794 Audubon's father returned to France, bringing with him two children who were formally adopted on 5 March 1794 in Nantes. The adoption act states that Jean Audubon was the biological father of both children: a boy, born 26 April 1785, given the name Fougère (Fern) who would become John James Audubon, said to be the son of "a woman living in America" who had died about 8 years previously.

Source: Acte d'adoption: Naissances Nantes (section La Halle et Jean-Jacques) an II, Archives de Nantes cote 1E40 vues 28-29.

Reading the act of adoption Audubon's "formal" name wasn't Jean-Jacques but Fougère. I am unsure what evidence there is that he was born in Les Cayes.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

The only thing regarding the name/names, as well as dates and years, of Audubon mentioned by Mearns & Mearns (2022*) is the following:

John James Audubon
(1785-1851)
[...]
John James Audubon needs little introduction. Suffice to say that he was born on 26 April 1785 on San Domingo (Haiti) and died on 27 January 1851 at his home at Manhattan, New York, at the age of 65. ...

No other names mentioned ...

Also note that this/his entry, in the Book by Mearns & Mearns is fairly short (less than a full page), compared to many of the other people dealt with in the same Book, which makes me think that they (just like me, and many others) must have assumed that the finer details of Mr Audubon's Life has already been studied, and scrutinized, over and over, again and again, (in the most thorough and meticulous way/s), in various Books and Papers, and as such, there'n no need for further questioning.

If this was, or is, a justified assumption is unknown to me.

/B

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*Biographies for Birdwatchers – The Lives of Those Commemorated in Western Palearctic Bird Names (Revised and expanded edition), by Barbara Mearns and Richard Mearns (662 pages, in two volumes), © 2022.

 

[Taphrospilus]

And remember they wrote as well Audubon to Xántus: The Lives of Those Commemorated in North American Bird Names.

 

[PScofield]

Audubon scholarship can be broken into two periods: before Herricks 1914 biography and after. Before we relied on Audubon's imaginative fiction and some very poor inference. After we know this:

Audubon's birth record (in the form of a bill from the "witch" doctor to Jean Audubon (as plantation manager in Les Cayes)

Audubon the naturalist; a history of his life and time : Herrick, Francis Hobart, 1858-1940 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The metadata below describe the original scanning. Follow the All Files: HTTP link in the View the book box to the left to find XML files that contain more...

archive.org

His baptism (as Jean Jacques Fougére Audubon" at age 16.

Audubon the naturalist; a history of his life and time : Herrick, Francis Hobart, 1858-1940 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

The metadata below describe the original scanning. Follow the All Files: HTTP link in the View the book box to the left to find XML files that contain more...

archive.org

Regarding the Name Laforest

"My name is John James Laforest Audubon, The name Laforest I never sign except when writing to my wife and she is the only being since my father's death who calls me by it" Letter of Audubon to Mrs Rathbone 1827.

Apparently all Mrs Audubon's letters to her husband address him as Laforest but it does not appear formally anywhere hence it is a nickname.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

...

Re Audubon’s forenames, I was originally (pre 1990) influenced by Wynne,1969, Biographical Key, p. 11, who gave “J. J. L. Audubon”. I obviously found Laforest somewhere, but have lost/mislaid/forgotten the reference. For the time being I shall keep it – everybody knows the name!

James, that's a (sudden) change of attitude!? Normally you're quick as lightning!

However, I´m pretty sure that quite a few Non-English speaking birders doesn't know who Audubon was (and certainly so among the younger ones), even less of his Given names. That's like claiming everybody knows Linnaeus (and many, many does), but most of them, at least here in Sweden (especially among the general public), know him only by the name Carl von Linné.

I'd say that Wynne's “J. J. L. Audubon” ought to have originated in his baptismal name (Jean Jacques Fougére Audubon).

Whatever his Wife called him in private, or what he called himself in personal letters, must be considered as of less relevance (even if, of course, fun to know).

This far, in my mind, there's no way "Laforest" could been seen as part of his (official) name, in neither period of the (spectacular) Life of John James Audubon (1785-1851).

/B

 

[James Jobling]

If Audubon himself wrote, "My name is John James Laforest Audubon," (#8) that's good enough for me.

 

[Björn Bergenholtz]

Fair enough, but he also added (as well in post #8): "... The name Laforest I never sign except when writing to my wife and she is the only being since my father's death who calls me by it."

So why should we?

...
Apparently all Mrs Audubon's letters to her husband address him as Laforest but it does not appear formally anywhere hence it is a nickname.

I cannot help wondering; why use (or include) a very, very private (close to intimate) nickname?

There must be hundreds of similar eponyms (in the Key), where such epithets must have been excluded in their respective explanations.

Either way, in my notes I will keep the "F." part as Fougére ... (as an early part of his full name)

/B