John James Audubon

John James Audubon (1785-1851) was a French ornithologist, naturalist, hunter, and painter. He painted, catalogued, and described the birds of North Terranova and Atlantis. In 1843, he and his friend Edward Harris travelled to Atlantis to catalogue the honker, a species of bird native to the continent. For Audubon, this was very personal excursion, as he'd become painfully aware of his advancing age and declining health.

After an uncomfortable sea journey (Audubon was prone to sea-sickness), Audubon and Harris arrived at Avalon. Gathering provisions, the two made for the interior of the continent. They passed through the town of Bideford, where they were directed to the area around the town of Thetford as a possible place to find honkers. The two continued on, sleeping out of doors, and catalogueing various other birds, including the red-crested eagle, the States' national bird. Finally, Audubon and Harris discovered a flock of honkers. Audubon, although regretfully, killed one, and drew what may have been his most life-like sketch.

Audubon was pained by the incredible growth of the human population of Atlantis, and the damage it inflicted upon the ecology of the continent. It was not long after his own death that the honker was presumed extinct.