Bien Edition
1858 - 1860
After Audubon's death in 1851, his son, John Woodhouse Audubon, sought to reissue
Birds of America. In 1858 he commissioned Julius Bien of New York, a pioneer
in the new technique of chromolithography, to print an edition on paper similar
in size to the double elephant. Some changes were made, including re-numbering of
plates to correspond with the numbers in the Octavo edition, and changing some plates
by grouping birds or changing backgrounds. Because of the financial and social upheaval
of the Civil War, the project was never completed. Only one volume of 105 plates
(150 birds) was produced, dated 1858, 1859, or 1860. Estimates of the number of
copies vary from 15 to 100. Like the Bowen Octavos, the Biens were lithographs produced
from stone plates. Instead of using a single plate to print a black-line image,
the chromolithograph uses several plates, each applying a different color ink. The
Bien Edition is the only major Audubon edition that is not hand-colored.
The 150 bird images that were used in the Bien Edition are listed below:
| Plate Number | Image Name |
| 1 | Wild Turkey |
| 2 | Yellow-billed Cuckoo |
| 4 | Purple Finch |
| 5 | Bonaparte Flycatcher |
| 7 | Purple Grackle |
| 8 | White Thoated Sparrow |
| 9 | Selby's Fly Catcher |
| 10 | Brown Lark |
| 12 | Baltimore Oriole |
| 16 | Great Footed Hawk |
| 18 | Bewick's Long Tailed Wren |
| 21 | The Mocking Bird |
| 22 | Purple Martin |
| 25 | Song Sparrow |
| 26 | Carolina Parrot |
| 28 | Solitary Flycatcher |
| 29 | Towee Bunting |
| 31 | White-headed Eagle |
| 35 | Children's Warbler |
| 37 | Gold-winged Woodpecker |
| 38 | Kentucky Warbler |
| 39 | Crested Titmouse |
| 41 | Ruffed Grous |
| 42 | Orchard Oriole |
| 43 | Cedar Bird |
| 47 | Ruby-throated Humming Bird |
| 48 | Cerulean Warbler |
| 51 | Red Tailed Hawk |
| 58 | Hermit Thrush |
| 60 | Carbonated Warbler |
| 63 | White Eyed Flycatcher |
| 65 | Rathbone's Warbler |
| 67 | Red-winged Starling |
| 68 | Republican Cliff Swallow |
| 69 | Bay breasted Warbler |
| 70 | Henslow's Bunting |
| 72 | Swallow-tailed Hawk |
| 73 | Wood Thrush |
| 76 | Virginian Partridge |
| 77 | Belted Kingfisher |
| 78 | Great Carolina Wren |
| 79 | Tyrant Flycatcher |
| 80 | Anthus Hypogaus |
| 81 | Fish Hawk |
| 83 | House Wren |
| 84 | Blue Grey Flycatcher |
| 89 | Nashville Warbler |
| 90 | Black and white Creeper |
| 92 | Pigeon Hawk |
| 93 | Sea-side Finch |
| 94 | Bay-winged Bunting |
| 95 | Blue-eyed yellow Warbler |
| 98 | Marsh Wren |
| 100 | Green-blue or White Bellied Swallow |
| 102 | Blue Jay |
| 103 | Canada Warbler |
| 104 | Chipping Sparrow |
| 106 | Black Vulture or Carrion Crow |
| 110 | Hooded Warbler |
| 111 | Pileated Woodpecker |
| 114 | White-crowned Sparrow |
| 115 | Wood Pewee |
| 116 | Ferruginous Thrush |
| 119 | Yellow-throated Vireo |
| 122 | Blue Grosbeak |
| 123 | Black & Yellow Warbler |
| 124 | Green Black-capt Flycatcher |
| 127 | Rose-breasted Grosbeak |
| 129 | Great Crested Flycatcher |
| 137 | Yellow-breasted Chat |
| 139 | Field Sparrow |
| 140 | Pine Creeping Warbler |
| 144 | Small Green Crested Flycatcher |
| 145 | Yellow Red-poll Warbler |
| 146 | Fish Crow |
| 147 | Night Hawk |
| 149 | Sharp-tailed Finch |
| 150 | Red-eyed Vireo |
| 155 | Black-throated Blue Warbler |
| 156 | American Crow |
| 157 | Rusty Grakle |
| 158 | American Swift |
| 160 | Black-capped Titmouse |
| 163 | Palm Warbler |
| 168 | Forked-tailed Flycatcher |
| 170 | Gray Tyrant |
| 171 | Barn Owl |
| 173 | Barn Swallow |
| 174 | Olive sided flycatcher |
| 175 | Nuttalls lesser-marsh Wren |
| 177 | White-crowned Pigeon |
| 179 | Wood Wren |
| 183 | Golden crester-Wren |
| 184 | Mangrove Humming Bird |
| 185 | Bachman's Warbler |
| 187 | Boat-tailed Grackle |
| 193 | Lincoln Finch |
| 194 | Canadian Titmouse |
| 195 | Ruby crowned Wren |
| 197 | American Crossbill |
| 198 | Brown headed Worm eating Warbler |
| 206 | Summer or Wood Duck |
| 208 | Esquimaux Curlew |
| 213 | Puffin |
| 214 | Razor Bill |
| 221 | Mallard Duck |
| 229 | Scaup Duck |
| 234 | Tufted Duck |
| 236 | Night Heron or Qua bird |
| 238 | Great Marbled Godwit |
| 246 | Eider Duck |
| 250 | Arctic Tern |
| 251 | Brown Pelican |
| 256 | Purple Heron |
| 265 | Buff breasted Sandpiper |
| 269 | Greenshank |
| 279 | Sandwich Tern |
| 281 | Great White Heron |
| 286 | White-fronted Goose |
| 288 | Yellow Shank |
| 289 | Solitary Sandpiper |
| 290 | Red backed Sandpiper |
| 292 | Crested Grebe |
| 294 | Pectoral Sandpiper |
| 301 | Canvas backed Duck |
| 302 | Dusky Duck |
| 307 | Blue Crane or Heron |
| 310 | Spotted Sandpiper |
| 320 | Little Sandpiper |
| 322 | Red-headed Duck |
| 323 | Black Skimmer or Shearwater |
| 329 | Yellow-breasted Rail |
| 333 | Green Heron |
| 336 | Yellow-Crowned Heron |
| 341 | Great Auk |
| 347 | Smew or White Nun |
| 348 | Gadwall Duck |
| 349 | Least Water-hen |
| 352 | Black-Winged Hawk |
| 355 | Mac Gillivray's Finch |
| 358 | Pine Grosbeak |
| 359 | Arkansaw Flycatcher, Swallow-Tailed Flycatcher, Says Flycatcher |
| 360 | Winter Wren, Rock Wren |
| 363 | Bohemian Chatterer |
| 366 | Iceland or Jer Falcon |
| 387 | Glossy Ibis |
| 421 | Brown Pelican |
| 424 | Lazuli Finch, Crimson-necked Bull-Finch, Grey-crowned Linnet, Cow-pen Bird, Evening Grosbeak, Brown Longspur |
| 425 | Columbian Humming Bird |
| 431 | American Flamingo |