Washington Sea Eagle

John James Audubon, born Les Cayes, Haiti 1785-died New York City 1851 · ca. 1836-1839

In 1814 artist and ornithologist John James Audubon first saw the elusive gigantic eagle he called "The Bird of Washington" flying along the bluffs of the upper Mississippi river, near the Great Lakes. Audubon documented four more sightings of this bird before finally acquiring a specimen. Larger than any known species of eagle found anywhere in the world, the eagle Audubon shot measured almost four feet tall, with a wingspan over ten feet wide. Due to its impressive size, Audubon immediately named it falco Washingtonii, or Washington's Eagle, and declared it to be a new species native to North America. Specimens of the "Bird of Washington" graced museum collections in Philadelphia, Boston, and London during the 19th century.