Kenn Kaufman is the author of the book, “The Birds That Audubon Missed.” He’s a naturalist who focuses on birds and has written several field guides. Kaufman details the life of John James Audubon and his role as both an artist and scientist chronicling the bird life of frontier America.
“Well, I tried to give a three-dimensional picture of him. There have been biographies of Audubon that tried to argue that he was, like, the greatest naturalist ever in North America. And the people who wrote those books are not especially happy with me right now. But I think I wasn't trying to either praise Audubon or cut him down. I just tried to describe the things that he did,” Kaufman told Ideastream Public Media midday host Jeff St. Clair in a recent interview on the “Sound of Ideas.”
Kaufman told St. Clair that Audubon’s writings on birds were very entertaining “even where they weren’t accurate.”
“He did a huge amount to make birds more popular and to actually raise more interest in conservation. And I think he deserves credit for that," said Kaufman. But the author notes that Audubon also held white supremacist views and was a slave owner when he lived in Kentucky.
As for how he became interested in birds himself, Kaufman told St. Clair that they drew his attention as a child and that’s it’s been a lifelong fascination.
“I was sort of a slow, dreamy kid wandering around daydreaming. And then here are these birds that are just so intense and living fast forward all the time. And I was just drawn to that. And I still am, ” said Kaufman.
Kaufman says it's great how popular bird watching has become. The hobby really grew during the pandemic and lockdowns. A recent national survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that 1/3 of American adults say they are birdwatchers.
Kenn Kaufman’s book, “The Birds That Audubon Missed” is available in bookstores and online retailers.
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Guest:
-Kenn Kaufman, Author and Naturalist