In about 1850, New York resident Lancelot Turk encouraged Savage to draw life-size pictures of birds.

Savage attended church meetings and worked to help people who were sick or elderly.

[1] Savage drew pictures of birds shortly after he came to Iowa, including a chewink that he hunted for measurements.

Starting in March 1856, Savage began keeping a diary that included phrases, daily tasks, and visits with others.

After wetting his brush with his tongue or water, Savage tested watercolor paints and compared the results with the bird.

He mostly painted southeast Iowa birds such as the Bohemian waxwing, the worm-eating warbler, Nelson's sparrow, and Smith's longspur.

[1] The Des Moines Register said that Savage was a "naturalist, artist, ornithologist of distinction and left for the succeeding generations a rare fund of information about the life of the woods, and a wonderful collection of paintings in natural colors.

[1] Some of Savage's original diary entries are held at the Des Moines Historical Library.