Artist and naturalist Roger Tory Peterson, initially famous for his 1934 field guide to the study of birds, was born of Swedish immigrant, working-class parents in 1908 in rural Jamestown, in upstate New York. As a boy, apparently imbued with a passion present from birth, he observed and sketched the abundant birds of wood and field. He also read about Audubon, Lear, Durer and Fuertes, artists who painted nature. His interest in birds was also guided by his seventh grade teacher, Blanche Hornbeck, who had started a Junior Audubon Club. Peterson has said, " I can't remember a time when I didn't watch birds"

Peterson later studied commercial art at the Art Students League and National Academy of Design in New York City. As a young man,...