Washington’s Eagle duly appeared in Birds of America, but not everyone was convinced. When the book was first published, Washington’s Eagle was generally accepted as being a real bird, and more than one museum claimed to have examples on display. However, by the time Audubon died in 1851, doubts were being expressed. The problem was that after some claimed initial sightings, no other respected ornithologists had caught a glimpse of the giant bird, and some people began to wonder if Audubon had been mistaken or even invented Washington’s Eagle.
