1978 Extremely Rare Northern Mockingbird by Roger Tory Peterson Signed

Sizing in inches This is a signed, limited edition lithographic print of a Northern Mockingbird by artist Roger Tory Peterson. The artwork is titled "Mockingbird" and was created in 1978. The print is hand-signed by the artist and numbered 289/950, indicating it is part of a limited run of 950 copies. It depicts a mockingbird with outstretched wings perched on a branch of fruiting Rosa rugosa (rugosa rose). Peterson chose the rose spray instead of a more common magnolia to avoid a cliche A mockingbird on a magnolia branch would almost be a cliche, so I chose to portray this displaying mocker with a sparay of rosa rugosa, the large exotic rose that has gone wild in the sandy soil up and down the coast. Mockingbirds are most abundant in the South, but because of suburban plantings of berry-bearing shrubs, mockingbirds have recently moved into New England in force and are slowly building up their populations elsewhere in the northern states. The mockingbird's rufous relative, the brown thrasher, can often be heard from my studio, but to find mockers I must go down the road to less wooded terrain. For some reason they seem addicted to motels, shopping centers, parking lots and other bustling places avoided by most other birds. Their repetitious phrases, one series succeeding upon another, mingle with the sounds of traffic. It is more fitting to hear these superb songsters at night when they serenade the silent moon. There are several other night singers but not more persistent than an inspired mockingbird. - Roger Tory Peterson