Beautiful birds fly into our U.S. stamp collections through the courtesy of John James Audubon.

Audubon (1785-1851) is recognized as the foremost authority on American birds. His book “Birds of America” has been described as the “finest pictorial ornithological book ever produced.”

The new U.S. 37-cent stamp, to be released June 27, features a reprint of his portrait of two colorful male Louisiana tanagers in spring plumage and two scarlet tanagers. The stamp is the second in the American Treasures series which was inaugurated last year (2001) with the Amish Quilts stamps.

Born in Saint-Dominigue (now Haiti), Audubon was raised in France but came to the United States in 1808 and became a citizen shortly thereafter. By 1820 he dedicated his life to the survey of American birds beautifully illustrated and shown in their natural habitats.

The Postal Service has paid tribute to Audubon before. The first stamp to honor him was issued in 1940 as part of the Famous Americans series, and the second in 1985 as part of the Great Americans series. They depicted colorful birds from his works of art.