John James Audubon (1785-1851) 
Plate CCCXLII Golden-Eye Duck 
from Birds of America 
Engraved by Robert Havell (1793-1878) 
Published: London, 1827-1838 
Aquatint engraving with original hand coloring 
Paper size: 26 5/8 x 38 3/4 in. 
Frame size: 36 3/4 x 49 1/4 in. 

"This species exhibits a degree of cunning which surpasses that of many other Ducks, and yet at times it appears quite careless. When I have been walking, without any object in view, along the banks of the Ohio, between Shipping port and Louisville, I have often seen the Golden-eyes, fishing almost beneath me, when, although I had a gun, they would suffer me to approach within a hundred paces. But at other times, if I crawled or hid myself in any way while advancing towards them, with a wish to fire at them, they would, as if perfectly aware of my intentions, keep at a distance of fully two hundred yards." - Audubon's Ornithological Biography, 1831.