HAND PAINTED CERAMIC PORCELAIN PLATE

AUDUBON STYLE

DEPICTS A BLACK AND GOLD ORIOLE

HE IS PERCHED ON A MAGNOLIA TREE LIMB

THE FLOWERS ARE IN BLOOM.

SO LIFE LIKE YOU CAN HEAR HIM SINGING AND SMELL THE FRAGRANT BLOOMS.

THE FOLK ART MEASURES 10.5" ACROSS

SIGNED "MF '97"

ALSO ON AN ALTERNATE SALE ARE A BLUE JAY AND HUMMINGBIRDS.

GREAT HOME DECOR FOR ANY NATURE LOVER.

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FYI

The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservancy. Incorporated in 1905, it is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. It is named in honor of John James Audubon, a Franco-American ornithologist and naturalist who painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North America in his famous book Birds of America published in sections between 1827 and 1838.

The society publishes an illustrated magazine, Audubon, on nature. It has many local chapters which often organize birdwatching field trips and conservation-related activities. It also coordinates the Christmas Bird Count held each December in the U.S., an example of citizen science.

Its main offices are in New York and Washington, DC, and has other state offices in about thirty states. It also owns and operates a number of nature centers open to the public, located at bird refuges, urban settings and other natural areas, as part of its mission to educate the public about birds and to preserve avian and other habitats.

It owns the Paul J. Rainey Wildlife Sanctuary.

Reference in Popular Culture
In the spy thriller novel Dr. No by Ian Fleming secret agent 'par excellence' James Bond discusses about the society with his superior admiral Miles Messervy as the group complained that some migratory birds used to nidify on the guano island owned by Julius No are seeing their nesting sites disturbed and destroyed. The organization is unflatteringly described as a "club made up of old spinsters".

The Audubon Society is mentioned in the lyrics of the song "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park" written by the famous satirist Tom Lehrer. John Jay wanted to conserve wildlife, so he would actually shoot birds to stuff them. Many hunters used this against him.

Popular independent comedy artist, Logan Whitehurst made a song called The Audubon Society about the formation of the society and their beliefs. It can be found in MP3 format here.

History
Grinnell's contribution
The NAS has its roots in one hunter's love for wildlife and his desire to see winged creatures proliferate and not perish. In 1886 Forest and Stream editor George Bird Grinnell was appalled by the negligent mass slaughter of birds that he saw taking place. As a boy, Grinnell had avidly read Ornithological Biography, a seminal work by the great bird painter John James Audubon; he also attended a school for boys conducted by Lucy Audubon. So when Grinnell decided to create an organization devoted to the protection of wild birds and their eggs, he did not have to go far for its namesake.

The public response to Grinnell's call for the protection of fowl was said to be instant and impressive: Within a year of its foundation, the early Audubon Society claimed 39,000 members, each of whom signed a pledge to "not molest birds." Prominent members included jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., abolitionist minister Henry Ward Beecher, and poet John Greenleaf Whittier. Such an organization was not wholly new.

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