The Bird of Washington, Washington Eagle, or Great Sea Eagle (Falco washingtonii, F. washingtoniensis, F. washingtonianus, or Haliaetus washingtoni) [1] was a putative species of sea eagle which was claimed in 1826 and published by John James Audubon in his famous work The Birds of America . The validity of this species has been questioned since 1870, [2] and the consensus among modern ornithologists is that it was fabricated. [3] Theories about its true nature include the following: [3] [4]
- It was an invention and that the picture was plagiarized from a picture of a golden eagle in Rees's Cyclopædia.
- It was a juvenile specimen, aberrant individual, or subspecies of bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
- It was actually a genuine species, but it was rare and became extinct after Audubon's sightings.
John James Audubon's painting of the bird was acquired by Sidney Dillon Ripley, and his family donated it to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1994. [5]
Other birds pictured by Audubon which are now disputed include Harris's hawk, the red-winged blackbird and western meadowlark. [6]
