Peter Gray is long established as an illustrator of books, magazines and newspapers with occasional forays into such fields as film storyboards and costume design, advertising and animation projects. He has written for publishers including Penguin, Longman and OUP.
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was born in Haiti and raised in France,
emigrating to North America when he was 18 years old to avoid
conscription into the Napoleonic wars. For many years he worked as a
trading merchant, before turning to his true passion: ornithology.
Audubon spent many years traveling the North American continent,
identifying and recording bird species. The Birds of America was an
immediate success, with Audubon becoming a household name in the
nineteenth century. It is still considered to be one of the greatest
works of ornithology ever created.