Google's Latest Doodle Is for the Birds

Google can't get enough of the doodles it regularly showcases on its homepage to mark special occasions and events. It's getting to the point where seeing the regular Google logo is becoming the event, not the other way around.

The latest doodle celebrates the birthday of noted French-American ornithologist and naturalist John James Audubon who created the most complete and detailed depiction of American birds of his time which is regarded as one of the seminal works in the field.

Aubudon was born Jean-Jacques in what is now Haiti, then the French colony of Saint-Domingue. However, it was in the US where he made himself known for his work studying and painting hundreds of species from the New World.

He eventually adopted an US citizenship and relinquished his French on. He is respected as much for his work as for his life in the early days of the US when much of the land was still untraveled by any European.

Through several ventures, his fortunes varied wildly, going from prosperous business man to being bankrupt and having to earn a living selling portraits.

During all of this, he worked on his drawings of American birds he encountered during his many trips in the wilds. He eventually amassed a large enough collection to have it published and went to Britain to showcase his work.

There he was met with great enthusiasm since his works were significantly better than any before him. The fascination most Britons had with the then wild America and his talent for making the drawings look more like works of art rather than scientific pieces only added to his success.

He eventually managed to get the funding need to publish his works as Birds of America, 435 hand-colored, life-size prints of 497 bird species. You can read more about him on the ever-helpful Wikipedia.

The doodle chosen to celebrate his 226th birthday is, unsurprisingly, depicting several bird species drawn in a similar manner to his original work.