Great Horned Owl Print — Audubon Birds of America Plate 61

Two owls. One branch. Two sets of amber eyes, fixed and unwavering.

Audubon's Great Horned Owl is Plate 61 of The Birds of America — published in the thirteenth fascicle of the Havell edition, engraved by Robert Havell Jr. and printed in London in 1829. It depicts a male and female Strix virginiana perched together on a lichen-covered branch, their mottled brown plumage rendered feather by feather, their characteristic ear tufts and piercing yellow eyes dominating the composition.

The Great Horned Owl is one of North America's most powerful raptors — capable of taking prey as large as skunks, rabbits and other birds of prey. Audubon called it the "Tiger of the Air". Here, Havell's hand-colouring captures the dense horizontal barring of the underparts, the warm tawny-orange of the facial disk, and the stark white throat patch with a precision that remains unmatched in the history of bird illustration.

Our reproductions are printed on thick archival paper from an ultra-high-definition source scan. Two versions available:

White background — clean, modern presentation, ideal for contemporary frames and minimalist interiors.

Vintage paper — warm cream tones that evoke the original 1829 Havell impression, perfect for a period-accurate or dark academia aesthetic.

→ Discover the full story of John James Audubon and The Birds of America

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