Many of the most valuable prints that John James Audubon produced for Birds of America were drawn in Louisiana. It was while in Louisiana that Audubon was able to advance significantly his style and technique for drawing birds, but he also had Joseph Mason (age 13) providing Audubon fabulous drawings of plants in which to place his birds, like the Southern magnolia, which according to noted botanist Dr. Alexander Gardener (1730-1791) was “the finest and most superb evergreen tree that the earth produced.” Others are less enamored with the waxy leaves that tend to accumulate under the iconic tree of the southeastern United States.
As recognizable as the Southern magnolia would be to most, Bonaparte’s flycatcher would most likely be a complete unknown. The only time that Audubon encountered Bonaparte’s flycatcher was on August, 13, 1821, “On arriving at the Cypress Swamp (about five miles from St. Francisville).” Of the birds that Audubon saw and tried to fell, only one was collected. After completing the drawing, Audubon decided to name the new species for science in honor of his friend and correspondent, Charles Lucien Jules Laurents Bonaparte (1803-1857). Even though Audubon goes to considerable length to differentiate Bonaparte’s flycatcher from the Canada warbler (Plate 103), a bird he considered a close relative, the only record of Bonaparte’s flycatcher remains the one that appears in Birds of America.