avis was a careful imitator of birds and he often performed before academic audiences. he also included a mix of his mimicry with the violin. he also performed for blind audiences. he was a contemporary of charles crawford gorst, charles kellogg and several others who specialized in the imitation of birds. his promotional brochures included reviews by john burroughs and winthrop packard. many recordings were made by avis for columbia records and after the rise in popularity of the radio, he also contributed to radio shows.