In the early 19th century, French-born painter and ornithologist Jean-Jacques Audubon traveled the banks of the Mississippi to paint the birds of Louisiana. He depicted over 1,000 birds in his work. But in the 200 years since, much has been destroyed and extinct. Audubon's work now forms an archive of the skies before the industrial age.

The documentary travels the banks of the Mississippi, tracing the tracks of now-extinct birds and revealing another story of the national myth. It also lets us rediscover Audubon's magnificent paintings and shows us the fascinating diversity of the animal and bird world.

"Birds of America" is a "river film" that weaves political and ecological questions with the stories, myths and spirits of the bird world.