When John James Audubon was inspired to draw a Sycamore tree for Birds of America, he placed in the branches of the tree four Wood ducks. The familiar bird and tree combined to become one of the most popular and valuable prints in Birds of America. Although Audubon did discover that the Wood duck does not always nest in “the hollow broken portion of some large branch, the hole of our large Woodpecker (Picus principalis) [Ivory-billed woodpecker], or the deserted retreat of the fox-squirrel.” Audubon made at least one outing to explore the Kentucky River where he detected “in the fissure” amidst the majestic rocks and cliffs of the present-day Pallisades section of the river the nest of a Wood duck with ten eggs.
Plate 206 – Wood Duck
Plate 206 of the first edition of "Birds of America" by John James Audubon.