IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V A {/ 0j A-t ^^ L^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 CIHM/[CMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canadien de microreproductions historiques I Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag6e Covers restored and/or laminrted/ Couverture restaur^e et/ou pellicul^e I I Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque I I Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ ere de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) I I Coloured plates and/or illustrationi^/ Planches et/oii illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relii avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serrde peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int6rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout6es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6t6 filmies. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppl^mentaires; L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a dt6 possible de se procurei. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-Atre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la mdthode normale de filmage sont indiqu^s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur □ Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes n n This item is filmed a. t ie reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiquA ci-dessous. Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages dicolor^es, tacheties ou piqu^es I I Pages detached/ Pages ddtach^es Showthrough/ Transparence Quality of prir Quality inigale de I'impression Includes supplementary materii Comprend du materiel supplimentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible I I Showthrough/ I I Quality of print varies/ I I Includes supplementary material/ I I Only edition available/ Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 filmies d nouveau de faqon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X \ 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X ails du tdifier une nage Th« copy fllmsd here hat been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —^- (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire filmi fut reproduit grAce A la ginArositi de: Library Division Provincial Archives of British Columbia Les images suivantes ont At* reproduites avec ie plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition at de la nettetA de l'exemplaire filmA, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimAe sont filmAs en commen^ant par Ie premier plat et en terminant soit par la derniAre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par Ie second plat, salon Ie cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmAs en commengant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derniAre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un das symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon Ie cas: Ie symbols — •■ signifie "A SUIVRE ", Ie symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent dtre filmAs A des taux de reduction diffArents. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6, il est film* A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche k droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant Ie nombre d'images nAcessaire. Las diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. rata 0 elure. J 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 ( 332 ) AuT. II. — 1. The Birds of America, enfrrnvcd from DrauHiiox made in the Uuilcd States, liy .loliii James Aiuluboii, 1". U. S,, &c. Vol. 1. i'olio. Luiidon. 1831. '2. Ornithnlogiccd Bin^rajthij ; or an Account of the Habits of Iht Birds of the United States of America; interspersed with Ik- lineutions of American Scenery and Manners, Jjy tlie saim Author. Vol.1. 8vo. lMliiibiir«^li. 183). 3. American Ornithology ; or the N(dnral History of the Binh of the United Slates. IJy Alcxaiulcr Wilson and Cliarlr- Lucieii Biioiiapai'te. lidited by Kobcit Jameson, l'".s(|„ r.R.S,, &c. 4 vols, luiiiibuigli. 1831. (Printed in Con- stable's Miscellany.) 4. Fauna Boreali-Americana ; or the Zaohigy of the Norlheii: Perls of British America. Part Second. — Tlie I'irds. li) William Swainson, Esq., I'Ml.S., and Jolni llicliardson, M.IJ.. I'Ml.S. 4to. London. 1831. A N accurate knowledge of natural liistory is rarely advanced In -^*- the publication of general sysUnis, for there arc few minds ;il once .so laboriously persevering, and of such comprehensive power, as to be enabled to acquire, combine, and communicate tlu; totiii results which lie scattered over the surface of so vast a field. Jjiii either the elucidation of a particular department of the science viewed under all its known relations, or an exhibition of die scienit itself, considered in its universality only so far as regards a parti- cular country, is a more attainable object, and one nujre likely from the comparative case of execution, to be alt'-nded by ; successful issue. Still more judicious are those authors who pre- scribe limits, not only to the subject which they embrace, bu to the localities with which that subject is connected, — aiu hence the higher value of works like those before iis, comparii with the more ambitious efforts of the system-maker : the oin class is the result either of personal observation, here such liii> been possible, or of very careful and assiduous com|)arison nl written records ; — the other is too often a hasly and iil-concoclcit amalgamation of statements, generally erroneous in their liw anouncement, and in no way rendered less fallacious by the lapsi of time, or the frequency of repetition. In no department of intellectiud exertion is the propriety oi the division of labour more necessary to be kept in reniein- Lrance than in that of natural history ; and in none is llii adherence to a clear and consistent system of arrangenunt m indispensable. A prejudice has no doubt arisen in the minds (.i many general readers against the systematic compendums of iiui- dern naturalists, on account of the repulsive form in which tlaii lucubrations hnihrati qua I reii pstiiict (I ui laniat lorn thei |ini(ler tli fyc probii iral asp( Jal dece P^itiiessin to secure ind,' as edge of bough p ^onjurati( |)|inatiou )V>d discri qptttualist \» blende '\ the a liorlh, is Be, — not the senses ••me dan t^y scieiK fcout.vcr, J lien wor e same # dress IRuII dctiii |lid when k>teiii-in; L-aiilifiil |c still a: J Wo see tlOlis, ulii extciiikd toous :mi( Uieir bai where — * Vol. m American Ornilholnrn/. 3,33 II DninHii^x m, r. U. S, lahlfs nfthf rd iritk Ik- jy tlic saiiu nf the Birch uxi Cliarli' cson, l'-s(|., iteil ill Com- lie Norlhvri, I'.inls. 15> ilsuii, M.lJ., ad van cell 1j} t"»;\v niiiuls al ■iisivo j)o\v»'i, cate tlu; total ii lirltl. J'.ni the scieiict, ii llic scioiia jfanis a parli- more likely lleiuled by : lors who pn- .'iiibiace, bii iic'ctcd, — aiii lis, coiiipam >er : the oiii leie such ha.> (iMipaiisoii ot ill-coiieocli'il iii their fiw i by the lapsi I propriety oi t ill leiueiii- none is lla angenieiit sn the luiiidN The strength they borrow with the grace they lend.' '^ the appropriate business of poetry, according to Mr. Words- tlorlli, is to treat of things not as they are, but as they appear lo be, — not as they exist in themselves, but as they seem to exist to ike senses and the passions of mankiiul, — there might, no doubt, be ■Oine danger of a rather spurious oiVspriiig rising upon us, were M$iy science of observation thus ' married to immortal verse.' Still, fcowever, we hope to see at least the dawning of that better day, when works of science shall be accurate and popular at one and llie same time, — when the rigid observer of facts shall not disdain •o (lirss them in a pleasant and even ornament .j ^'irb, — when €?idl detail shall no longer be substituted for graphic des'riplion, — id when, msteail of the re[)ulsive features of morose at i jealous teiii-uiakers, wc shall continually behold what M'.ton has aiilifidly called * the bright countenance of truth siiining amid le still air of delij^htfiil studies. ... . ® . . . >* e see indeed, w itli unfeigned regret, that those vain disputa- ns, which we had fondly hoped would have found a sutlicuiilly 68lt('iuk'{l space in the soiled arena of jiolitics, or through the tor- tuous and hollow ways of polemical discussion, are now spreading then baiieuil intluence over the peaceful domains of science, where — «* ' More pellucid streams, ^' All air.iilor itlier, a diviner air, And (iulds invested witli iiurpiiical gleams,' V Vol. xLYii. ^u. xciv. 8 a inight i nn4 A mrrknn Onnlhohf/y. iiii;lers ; but such contentions are rcallv alike uncalled for and unwelcome on the part of naturalists : — the greater proportion of that limited class being in truth very worthy and well-meaning men, totally imskilK.d in the use of controversial weapons, they handle tlu in too feebly to inlliet any damage on their opponents — and all that either party gains is the derision of the public : — ' Put up your bright swords, else tlie dew will rust them.' We have said that the vast materials of which the science of natural history is (^imposed, rendered the methodical arrangement of its subjects indispensable. This would be true even were our crt'orts conhned to the formation of arbitrary or artificial system.s, the principal merit of which consists in the facility they atVord in ascertaining the name by which a species had been prcvioiislv recognized by others ; for nomenclature, though not so much ;i «le|)artment of natural history as a convenient instrument by which the science may be more successfully cultivated, is yet indis- pensal'le to the * common good,' so long as men are desirous to avail themselves of the la!)ours of tholr |)iedecessors and contem- poraries— in other words, so long a;s they are not insane through egotism and conceit ; but it becomes a still more important truth when we look upon system, both as a means and an end, which it will assuredly become, in the hands of him who discovers a key to the natural order and alVmities of existing things, or who, by the power of a more exact and universal knowledge than any one in- dividual has ever yet acquired, shall exhibit the final result of a successful investigation of the mysteries of nature. An artificial classification of animals in natural history may be likened to an alphabetical arrangement of words in a dictionarv. Jn the one ea.se, a few unimportant, though easily-aseertaim(! characters, which lead to no general results in relation to the habits and economy of the species, are selected as the bond nl union, as in the other the initial letters form the accidental basi- of connexion ; and we might as reasonal)ly expect that tin highest manifeslatioiis of the literature and philosophy of a lan- guage should consist in marshalling together ail the words wliidi begin with the same letter, as that our knowledge of nature shoidil be rendered perfect through the iiie 1 of sudi a ; ull tliin<;s, «^ whalever )iibt, wiicii titaiit.s, and pa^siuiiatc picu.suie III ii;j,l(is ; but ivtlcomc oil liat liinitcd mil, tutally aiiille tluiii ■uikI ail tliut hem.' science of iirraiigcinoiit en were our •iai systems, u-y alVoni in I pie\iouslv so iiiucli .1 L'lit by wliicli IS yet imlis- 13 desirous to and conlcni- iaiie tlirou^rli portaiit tnilli end, uliicli it ivers a key to wlio, by tiic 1 any one iii- al result of a story may be a dietionaiv. y-aseertaiiHi! latioii to tlio tiie bond »[ :idcntal ba^i^ ert tliat tin ipliy ot a Ian- words wliicli iiatiiii' siioiilii licial .system, ' Tlic riie words in llic niio ease, and tlie characters in the other, con- ilaiitlv lead us to things which bear no necessary or essential jiatioii to eacii other. Hut a natural classilieation, or siuh an pproximation towards it as our finite capacities or means of in- IbiiiKttioii permit ns to attain, resembles a linely methodised irraiiuciiieiit ot" llie subjects of human knowledge, in which, not die accidi iits of literal resemblance, but the essentials of a natural il)(i indestructible connexion, form the only true basis of a philoso- ^ical svstem. An assiduous and long-contiiiiied study of nature fenns, of course, the best precursor to a successful system of Jrraiigenient according to the natural order ; and when we bear in ftiiiid, that in the formations of most systems an opposite course lln-^ bed) pursued, and that animals, so tar from being classed in ||tt onlaiice with their structure and attributes, are at once sub- Biiited to certain arbitrary rules, established a priori as a mere. aalter of convenience, we need scarcely marvel at the results, — or tlial the words of Locke, in reference to another subject, ' a vast «tp;insinii <.'iven over to night and darkness,' should apply to so nBniy ' systems ' of natural history. MA brief glance at the numerical amount of species, in a few of nit great classt's of the animal kingdom, will snttice to shew what in iiieoiiiprelieiisible and unmanageable n'.ass they would present, Iftiire not their parts divided and defined in accordance with the mles of system. -'J'liere are supposed to be above C0,00() species of insects in Eni'>|ie alone ; an^* the southern quarters of the glob(> are propor- tJlDiially still more prolific; for we find that colil is in general rfveisc (o insect life, and that even temperate countries arc in Ais respect much less productive than tropical and equatorial J%ioiis, It is probable, however, that the distribution of many nbrtlierii insects is still unknown. It was formerly supposed, that 16 I {(land there were none, and that even in Norway there were feiy lew ; and their absence from those countries was attributed ^ excess of cold, llorrebow contradicted this opinion in regard ^ Iceland; and Linmeus, Thnnbeig, Paykull, (Jyllenhall, Scliiln- Igrr, and others, have .diowii, that in Lapland, Sweden, and the w>ith ot I'.urope in (general, insects are very numerous. Some <^ tlie fiiiost of the coleopterous kinds (such as Prnrervsi faiiricii.i) 66cu\ ill Siberia ; aiid Pallas, Marechall de Hirberstein, Steven, Stverguiiu', vXdanis, and Fischer, among the nortliern writers, have made ns j'.ccpiainted with species which rival in si/e anrl •plendoiir the most gorgeous products of the torrid zone. During Olalsen and I'ovalsi u's residence in Iceland, one of these travel- leis, neither ot wlioni had much knowledge of entomology, col- lected JOO ditlVreiit species in one small valley; Mr, Scoresby found two species of bullcilly (CWms j>ateHo and MdiUca cliu) 2 A y in S30 Amoriran Ornil/inhirj)/. ill great numbers on the cast coast of West Circcniand, in north latitude 7 1""; Mr. Kirl)y Iras (lescribed several insects, captiuiil on Melville Island, wliicli lies in llie 7i" and 7'>^ of norlli lati- tude ; wliile Captain l^arry, on the last day of his attempt to reach the l*ole over the ice, found a small species of aphis, in latitude H2° '26' 44", about one hundred miles from the nean st known laud. 'J'his may be stated as the extreme northtiii boundary of insect lile. 'I'he amount oi roller fid species in the annulosc classes, that is, the Crustacea aiul insects, wh-ther described or otherwise, is esti- mated by Macleay as exceeding lOO.OOO; anti it may safely be as- serted, that but a small portion, compared with tin; entire amount nf existing species, has been yet discovered. Our knowletlge even dl European entomology is, in many respects, imperfect and supcrti- cial ; and when we consitler that all the other quarters t)f the earth exhibit vast tracts of territory, with the great geographical featun s of which we are still unacquainted, we camiot marvel that the mi- nuter and less important, though scarcely less interesting, features of insect life should have remained unexplored. 'J'he greiit central deserts, woods, and mountains of Africa, and an extended portion of the south-eastern coast of that continent, the interior dI New Holland, and the islands of the l*acilic Ocean, the central and eastern parts of Asia, the western coasts of North Auu.-rica, and many of the mountain ranges and highly-elevated plateaux of the southern division of the New World, arc almost cntireK unknown, so far as regards their entomological relations. Of the various tribes of insects, those of the coleopterous order have been the most assiduously and the most successfully studied It is somewhere stated in a popular work, that beetles are of ficn kinds — the black and tlie brown. I'abricius appears to have beeii of another opinion ; for in his ' Systema Eleutheratorum,' he ha- «lcscribed 5'2bO kinds; and although that number presented a great accession to the amount contained in the preceding system ol -Linuicus, yet so rapidly has our acquaintance with tlie coleopte- rous tribes been extended since the period alluded to, that the col- lection of M, Dupont, junior, of I'aris, contains about 1(),()()(! species, and that of the JJaron de .lean a still greater number. The known coleoptera of (ireat Britain alone amount to nearlv 3,300 and every year furnishes additional species. The total amount of known IJritish insects (according t<' the last rrnsiir), i> 10,01 '2,* which is equal to nearly twice the nund>er of ascertaiiuil birds, and to more than ten times the number of asccrtainul quadrupeds throughout the whole world.f Allhonuli ■* Systi'iiiiitic ('iit.il;!t,'mMil'Uritisli Iiiso.'ts. IJy l'". .(. Slinciis, I'an II., ji. MC*. f III regard to plaats, DccaiiclollL- ('Ess.ii Elciiiciit. JcCio'igrai)!). Uotaii.';intiin:ili- jimerlcan Onillhologi/. 337 (1, ill iioitli I, ca|)tiii'((l nortli lati- attcnipl to of aj)liis, in ihc iioiii(s( ic iioiIIk'Hi ssos, that is, wise, is fsli- safily be us- c ainoiint ol 'i\>rc even (it and snpciti- dt" the eaitli lical featmf. that the nii- linji, foatiuis 'J 'he ientcd a aroii Cnvier has lately remarked, that the amount 0 known iishes may now be estimated at (i(JS(>() birds, and he supposed that there mii;hl actually exist J.jOO, iM- even '.'()()() species. iS early (JOOO of that class have likewise lie( II ascertained, and many new species are in the course of being l^ded every Near. {^ ' in the animal kin may bi said to be web-fuoted, and inhabit, fur the most part, the walersui lakes .«nd rivers: nearly 'i of the eaith ; about I'JO ruminating and pachydermatous, aiic more than 1.50 of the carnivorous and gnawing tribes (glires' uander through tlu! forests without any particular or |)erm;nii'iii habitation, and are generally endowed with the power of rii|iii movement. In relation to their nomishment there ar(! about .'i.)i mannnifcrous animals of an herbivorous or frugiv orous disp(j sition ; about SO whose habits are onmivorous ; l.)(> whiih an insectivorous, and f240 carnivorous in various degrees.* AnuHii; living authors the fullest summaries of the class mammalia an given by Desniarest, CiriHith, and M. l. iiatoits, ami il)cs («iliiTs* pciiiiaiiciii vcr of ia|)ii (• about .) )i )i()i\H (iis|)(i () wllilll !11( S.* AllKtllL' aiuinalia an ly ciW'vX :ii »)iic coiiiiti) wo i)iiii(;i|>.i lent, ami tin as tlif Ii'iii )iis sporifs ()i ili.t tlu; iiatuii ; and curkdi jf ii^^lu.',s. 0 u nii;j,lit liaM I last ct'Miiu natives of tli , in a ([uaiti :ing alonj; tin luiable baiiil iniaik, to tilt I, alter swim- ke their nmK ,\lu re they art d by the pw- heniselves ;iit antilies by lli' anee of tlii-t St. Tiu'y :iit es, wliii h pit. inosl ilelienii. food * Tli(>sr excursions usually precede a rigorous winter, of itiiuU the lennnings seem in some way forewarned. I'or ex- aiiipli', the winter of 174'i, remarkable for itli seventy throuf^hout ^r ciiele of luuea, was comparatively mild in that of Lula, 4tli<)U<;h situated farther to the noith; the lennuin<;s nii<;;rate(i ftv)in the former, but remained stationary in the latter district, iVlialever may be the motive of these jouriu-ys, they are executed with siiiprisiuu; pt i>e\erancc, ami with the universal accord of tho fl4ii)le nation. I'he nf/irinti murium pours forth its entire hmdes, •Bd, for :i time, scarcely a reumant is left in their ancient habita- tions. 'I'lie greater proportion, however, perish before they reach (Jie sea, and of course few survive to icturn to their accustomed )nies. They do, however, endeavour to return ; for the object of iv'w travel to a far country, whatever it may be, is not to found a inltiplied or more extended empire, 'i'liis, indeed, is eviileiit loin the comparatively local restriction of the s|)eeies, for the true riiininji of the Scandinavian Alps does not appear to occur even liiissian Lapland ; and the kind which inhabits the countries in ^e iieiglihnurhood of the \\ hite and I'olar seas, as far as tho wiitlis (it the Obi, is a species or strongly-marked variety, lialler by at least one-third, and of a dilferent aspect and colour. t Vir mif^ratoiy propensities are, however, entirely the same in pleieiit countries, for the species which dwells among the wtliern extremities of the I'ral mountains, emigrates sometimes kvanls Pet/.ora, at other times towards tiie banks of the Obi, and followed, as usual, by troops of carnivorous and insatiate foes. J pie manners of the species are said to present this discrepaiicv, lat the ^Norwegian lemmings lay up uo provisions, ami have oidy [single chand)er in their subterranean dwelling-places, whereas le ksser kiiul excavate numerous apartments, and are provident the winter season by storing up ample nuigazines of that species rein-deer moss, called lichen ruujjijcrinvs.^ iTIie immediate cause of those movements, which we class under le Iliad of irregular migration, seems to be the excessive multi- litalion of the species, anil the consequent want of a suflicing yiiisliment, which naturally leads them to seek elsewhere for a Die abundant supply. Periodical migrations, such as those of lily birds and fishes, are more probably prodiiceil by the desire lull these aninuds experience of returning to their native haunts Wr tlie purpose of producing and rearing t!ieir young in tho places most litted for their reception ami increase. Tishes always •pawn ill comparatively shallow waters ; from which we may infer, t. U.VI. •"'lit; DuiWiy's Annual Iti'^^istor for ir(i!). f ScIuuIjit, \t\. U15. B. X I'iillas. Nova' siuiiis (^iiailnipciluni c j^liiimn oriliuu, V Diet. C'lubb. il'llibt. iS'at., urticly (\inipofjnul. lout' that )40 A m erica n Orn ilh ohh/y , tliat tlir iiifliiciioc of li^lit niul heat is, to a certain extent, neces- sary for the (lovelopnient of the germ of hfe ; and ihu.s, however far tliey may wander for a time into tlie ileplhs of ' tlie bhie |)ro- found,' they relnrn again to their native shores before llie eoiii- nieneenient of tlie l)ree(lin}» season. The fry not only fnid lluir nourishment more abundantly in the bays and along the eompaia- lively shallow lirllis of the sea, or among the sedgy banks ami gravelly margins of lakes and rivers ; but they are also in sudi 8itnati(ms less exposed to the attacks of their natural foes, just ns the smaller tribes of birds seek protection from hawks among the. branches of trees, or in tin; denser foliage of die shrubbery. It is usually about the periods of the ecpjinoxes that the priii. cipal migri' y movements of birds are performed. At those periods strong winds are apt to prevail, and, no doubt, act their part in transporting these hap|)y aeronauts to their destined honi^ In eonsctpience of such movenienlsa regular intercourse is kept up between different countries, and a flux and rellux of feii'Jiered life maintained ; — the countries situated near the tropics sending their inhabitants, on the approach of sunnner, into temperate regions, while the latter prepare for their reception by despatching a still greater number towards die polar circles. On the approach of winter again, the hyperborean regions are left nearly desolate In the migration soudiwards of their winged tribes, while the tempe- rate regions are deprived of many beautiful songsters by a corre- sponding decrease of temperature, and consetpienl failure of inseil food, by which they are forced once more to venture, without guidt or compass, across stormy seas and desert wildernesses. By wlia: unknown and mysterious calendar are they instructed ? ' Tiic (lod of nature is their secret guide.' — While. Whatever theory of instinct may be finally fixed upon as tin most correct and philosophical, it is obvious that we cut ratlu than untie the gordian knot when we talk of die foresight of tlif brute creation. We might as well talk of the foresight of a ba^ rometer. There can be little doubt diat birds, prior to Uieir mi- gratory movements, arc intluenced by atmospherical changes, or other physical causes, which, however beyond the sphere of cm perceptions, are suflicient for their guidance. That they are nut possessed of the power of divination may be exemplilied by the following instance. The winter of 18'J2 was so remarkably iniU throughout Europe, that primroses came generally into (lower in the end of December, — rye was in ear by the middle of ^laicli, and vines, in sheltered situations, blossomed about the end of tiiai month, — so that an assured and unchecked spring was establisiu'ii at least four or live weeks earlier than usual ; — yet neither ll« cuckoo nor the swallow arrived a single day before their acciis- tOllK'il American OmUhiilof/y, ,141 )n»r(l periods.* They nre, iiidoed, Itriuitifiilly and wisely directed, -< Veil, tlie stork in tlie iicavtiis kiiovvclli her iippoiiitcd limes; [nd th(; turtle, utid the cruiie, uiid the swallow, observe the tin u \t' their coiiiiii};;.' Jt is eviileiil, that of all iiattirul agents climate is the most Powerful in ehanging and modiiying the external ehuractcrs of tlu; eathered race ; and, tlu itfore, to enable ns to accpiire siieh know- edf^i; as may render ns enmpetent to distinht to pay particular ttention to the ellects proilnecd by local po ii"mi ; in other words, ic nnist study the geographical distribuiion >i' the .ipeciis. The jnthience oi climate upon birds, and the niv'ual relations subsistin<{ jilween »he general characters of the plumage '>f many liibts, and he temperature and odicr physical ipialities of the country in k\hich such tribes arc most abundant, althoii,';li among the more Interestmg of the general speculations 'thich ilu; science of orni- Ihohigy admits, have as yet, we belie' e, but sparingly occupitil he attention of naturalists, in fact, ornilhologv has hitherto met lidi scarcely any general oi philosophical illustration, and may be [aid to have renniined nearly stationary in those respects, dining fie recent progress of the higher branchts of botany ami mineralogy, even of entomology, and other more nearly allied departments, lunurons species have been descril ed, and numerous systems of hissification (for better or ft)r worse) have been invented ; after I'hich ornithologists have too often rested from their labours, ii.staking the nuans for the end, and believing that all was ac- boni])lishcd when only certain necessary steps hud been taken, and |he way cieiiied (though but to a limited extent) for the coni- ^ueucenient of those more extended and more jihilosophical iu- juiries, without which there is little interest, and no dignity, in iny science, lliiger, in his paper on the geography of birds, has indeed [treated of the habitation of upwartls of 3800 species ; f but, in Itlu- opinion of Humboldt, he has erred in viewing them according Ito their distribution over the live great divisions of the world, -a method, certainly, by no m•), # die i^aw tl) ^iithnr wehtern Several (suidi ■,\- raiily ot Amn'wan Ornitholngtj. 34.1 o illustrate distribuieil rodiiccs its whicli iiiiiv as birds of re birds o!" i("y cqiiallv declines or itiou to our low wrens, 10 fieldfare, ntcr season, lu and bud itory bird is , although it for a great almost per- calls of that ler name it iiscern a rc- rn conntries I facts seems The nearer es proper to which make of passage, hat country ; and departs nid Norway : in number amount and and quantity nn produces :here the sea II the rocks, » As. In tlic reed lluui in .'gard to do- its peculiar mi of Vi';;i'(iiljli! Jim J* But it is time that we should turn our attention rather moie ■ectly to the subjects named at the head of this article. . Mthoiigli cannot be said to have acquired a perfect knowledge of llio fi^nilliology of North America, we yet possess, in the beautiful IJiork of Alexander Wilson, and in die inipurtant publications of iittcceeding writers, such an accurate and inuple history of the iMrds of tlie United States, as to warrant the belief that no very rtb'ikiiig feature of the science remains to be diicovered, at least in ^cse districts. It is otherwise, innvever, in regard to the we-.li in cliast, and the extended chain of the Hocky Mountains, which, fe.'jiiiting an infinite variety of hill and dale, * dingle and bushy II,' lor the most part well watered, and enjoying, especially aHiioiig its western slopes and valleys, a long and continuous sum- fljer, may be expected to yield, not only several species peculiar to {ttld characteristic of its own localities, but also a considerable '^riety of the southern birds of passage from Mexico, and the pioie tropical regions of the new v, orld. It has been long ascer- t^ed, in regard to the species of the United States, that the fMthern migratory birds ascend to much higher latitudes on the wletern than on the eastern side of the great Alleghany chain of fqM|unlaiiis; * and from what we know of the line climate which QMracterizes the basin of the Columbia, and other portions of the tern territory, we may fairly infer that many species fiom catan, and other peninsular portions of the Isthmus, will be figilind to spread through Mexico, and even to extend their migra- tijt>ns northwards as far as the CJulph of Georgia, and its neigh- touring lakes. Indeed, it is an established fact, that many birds of ipexico, entirely unknown in the Atlantic tcrilories of the United tales, are met with in the interior of Uie country, and especially iig the range of the Kocky Mountains, in latitudes of consiilei- le elevation. A specii,'y, vol. iii. p. 1. There 344 Atperlcan Ornilholofpj. There is^ indeed, no region out of iMirope, of equal extent, of which \vc jiossess so anijilc and correct an ornithological know- ledge as vc do of the United States. Of tiie three writers, however, to whom we owe tiiis debt, we are not sure tliat even one was a native of America. The first, Alexander ^\ ilson, an emigrant from Paisley, a poet by birtli, though a pedlar by pro- fession,— one who, realizing the peculiar fancy of AVordsworlii— ' plodded on, Tlirougli liot and dusty ways, or peltintr storm, A vagrant merchant bent benealli iiis load,' was also the author of the most delightful collection of ornillio- logical biographies witii which we are acquainted.* lie describui the birds of the United States in a manner wiiich had either been previously unattemptcd, or, if attempted, had sign-.dly failed iil success; and, detailing the history of their haunts anil habits with an accuracy and animation which relieved the su!)ject of its accus- tomed aridity, he rendered a work of genuine science as i'ltertst- iny to the sieneral student as to the devoted naturalist. His book formed, in fact, a new era in the history of the feathered tribes; and, lightening the subject itself of the opprobrious weight under which it had long laboureil, it placed that opprobrium on tin shoulders of those who chose to continue their ' danuiable itera- tion ' of technical details, •^o the exclusion of the spirit of lill' Mliich pervades the beautili " originals. Wilson died as he hail lived — in poverty. He appt '"s to have been a man of stroii;; feelings, and of a somewhat m :.'tid, if not irascible, disposition; loving his own j)ursuils ' not \> ly, but too well ;' and either unabli; or disinclined to check tirosc asperities of temper whidi are apt to arise in the minds of men whose feelings and opinion- are (liametiically opposed to those of the woiUI around ihcni. 'J'hc day-star of his life, which, under happier auspices and a inon prudent zeal, might have led to emolument as well as honour. Ma? regarded by ahnost all by wiiom he was surrounded as nothing more than a delusive meteor, — a sort of ' \\ ill o' the Wisp' whicli could never lead to good. In truth, he came into the world (par- ticularly the new world) at least half a century too soon. Had lie * AnifiicMU Oniithclof,')', or t'lo Natm-al Ilistmy oftlu" Jiinls i>f iho liiitid Slatr< by Alcxaiuk'i' Wilson. 'J vols. -Ito. I'liiladtlpliiii. ItJCS— II. 'i lii' (luscrii>ti\' liurliou of the; last voluiui: (tlu' jilaks of wliicli wuro iiri'paix'd I'lior to Wilson's diatl. ill LSI;!) was written liy Mr. {icori;(' Oril. Moru than ono sul)si'iiin!nt edition dI'iIk' L'litiri' wiirli lias heon inihlishi;i. I'rofessor J.imesuii. survival sa^ived t( have been, wesleii of oui it the re ilved and but fairly then liis d wide-spreai 9$id his occ Ml labours a^ld died ii aid one oi t|f ingeniu ' Union tofthose wl taurs, ai Wealth; th oatural his m^hods ai doMhted iin ilt<|St coiitii science fior supplt led by \ apl mteiiigi a^a aUhoug would scar( which at on 5U by ih, it is we I resi)ect inigs of : rial nuiui It too lal artist who with .M. [ • .■\nu'riiMn Stetes, not i^\\ natnri!. liy ( Only the huiil I 1 Amrrimn Ornithnlofjy. PAj 1 extent, (if jical kiiow- ec writers, e tliat even \Vilsoii, ill! liar by pm- irdsworlli— 1 of oniitlio- le (lescriljtil filluT been Uy failed el habits willi jf its ncc{\)i- : as i'ltcrest- II is book cicd tribes: .■fii^lit iiiulei iimi on tile nablc iteia- pirit of life 1 as he hail n of stroll;; lisposiliuu; and cither iiper wliieli 1(1 opinion^ oimd tlieiii. and a inon W lononr, \va- as notliin; is]) ' uliidi world (par- Had 1m' in fiiiU'il Slatr 1 lu' ik'scrii't;! \\'iihim's I'.i'al' it uilitioii of tilt imi we n'jiiii'' illiplrint'lll, iUi' .iii\ ,' wlii'ir t'l ■11 Illt'tlHlllilMl } lb! It'll iiiitur.ilM' snivivtii |||\ive(l to later days, and been aided, as he assnredly would e been, (like the Drununonds and i)onglases now expl(.iing western wilds,) by the patronage of our public societies of our private cultivators of science, so as to assure him t the result of his researches would not only be eagerly re- eved and highly prized by enlightened men in all countries, bat fairly remunerated, even as a commercial s|)ecula'.ion, — tlien his dubious path through the unvisited forest, or over the wide-spread prairie, would have been cheered and enlightened, and his occasional heart-sinkings consoled by the knowledge that fafjl labours would not be altogether in vain. As it was, he lived aUd died in poverty; and may now be added as another name, ai|d one of the brightest, to that melancholy muster-roll which t|M$ ingenious D'Israeli has recorded in his historical catalogue ol ' Unfortunate Naturalists.' U is some consolaiion, liowevi r, torthose who may be still struggling with the ' res angnsta doi »i,' to rellect, that aUhough Linnuius commenced his life, or at least his manhood, by mending his own shoes, he died .'jurounded by honours, and in the enjoyment of competent, if not abundant, Wealth ; the companion of princes, and the father of a school of natural history, which, however various may be the opinions of melliods and systems, or however great the numerous and un- doubted improvements of modern times, aftbrded the steadiest and most continuous light which has ever directly resulted to zoological science from the labours of a single individual. j^A supplement to the work of Alexander W ilson has been pub- lillied by M. Charles Lucien Bonaparte, an accurate, assiduous, and mttHigent naturalist : * — ' Peace hath iicr victories no less renowned than war ;'— aOd aUhough the most comprehensive circle of ornithological fame would scarcely have sufViced to satisfy the dazzling expectations which at one period might have been not unreasonably entertained, evpn I)y the youngest and least aspiring relative of Napohoii, yet it is well that one who fills the station of a private gentleman IIljiP lespcclable and nnassinniiig manner, should seek to associate feelings ol a milder and more humanising character with his iin- nu^rliil name. M. Monaparte's work is carefiillv, though some- what too laboriouslv, engraved. The plates are done bv the same artlfet who executed Wilson's; and although we cannot agree with M. Boiiiparte, that Mr. A. Lawsou is the ' lirst orni- * American ()niitli(iliii;j-, or tliu \atiuMl Ilistury oC IJinls iiih.iliillii'^' tlie Uiiiti'il St»ti;s, lint i;ivoii liy Wilsim; with I'lj^uru's ilr.iw'ii, i;ii;;t.ivi'(1, and enlimnMl fniin natiiri'. liy ChaiV'S Lucirii li,Miaiuit.'. .J vols. -Ito. I'hila.klplua. I S'.;.')— '.iS. Only tho laml birds luivo lic.ii yut imblishud. tliological ,140 Amniran OrnUhoJngy. thological engraver of our ngp,' we have no special objection tn the liif^li and niinutely-iinislied filling np of llie j)lates, except tlint it must necessarily increase the price without enhancing the value of the publication, — at least in a corresponding degree ; for tlie truth ol nature in all large subjects, such as the generality of the feathered tribe, is, in fact, given with better effect by a lcs< laboured manner. When every feather is finished ofV so as to re- present, not the aspect of nature as it appears when the subject i^ looked at as a whole, but rather the appearance which each indi- vidual plume presents when examined apart, and in disconnexion from its neighbours, the result is to produce a degree of tlntiKs* of surface, and hardness of outline, which are displeasing in :nt, principally because they are unknown in nature. However, tin work is highly creditable to all connected with it, and forms a most valuable addition to our knowledge of ornithology. iJut the most signal publication on American birds is that ol Mr. Audubon, which, indeed, far exceeds, in size and splendoiii. all its predecessors in any department of zoology. The dimension^ of this woi k are such as to enable the author not only to represeiil the largest birds of the United States, of the size aid in the all- tudes of living nature, but to figure them in family groups so admirably conceived and executed, as really to form historiciil pictures of the greatest interest, and of the highest utility to tlu student of ornithology. In these and other lespects, neither lii' predecessors nor his contemporaries can be named as his equak either in Europe or America ; for we know of no one who li;i' at all in the same degree combined accuracy of individual ro- presentation with lively and energetic portraiture of genera forms. We know that several of the greatest artists that ever livn were much attachcil to animal painting, and excelled in that de- partment; and although the professed painter has higher objed- in view than to pride himself on the accomplishment of •• '•••bori- ously-detailed copy of individual nature, yet the stud«'nt of seieiice, who combines the minuter observance of natural objects w ith l!:c love of whatever is picturesipie or beautiful, cannot fail to be in- queutly offended by the discrepancies exhibited in imaginative works of ait, where, the greater ilifllculties having been overcoiiit, it would have been easy, by condescending to a little counnuii place inquiry and attention, to avoid errors which are oidy int glaring because of the ignorance of those who witness tliciii If a painter were to represent a greyhound pointing a covey o! moor-game on the side of a highland mounlaiu, the mistake woiilii be thought egregious ; and as soon as the instinctive habits ami aequiretl powers of the feathered tribes become as generally known as the sporting propcnsilii-b of the canine race, then Sonuixi lluiisi; nmalier : hi incon 11 a bout i\ or IS ia alone ( as an ex illustratic ju«t publ with ana race, fro 1 1 whi en bably, nn th( ev the accoii leader of American W<' be; Le ^■ailla tbeconipl lected :nu of icience man eior so niiieli of know the bnr of wild b dreaniec should should III youtli :— n ' Fo At Bat, i,d Amtricaii P«ges in; tendiim I under (lis endea\()ui already fo history, ;ii enthusiast ■Mv. Al American Omilhology. 347 olijcction tn , except that iiig the valiii rt-e ; for tlie rality of tlie ;t by a less so as to ic- he subject i^ rh eacli iiidi- (liscoiiiiexinii c of fliitiies- casing in :nt, loNvever, tin aiul forms ;i )gy. ds is that dl id splendour, le dimension* f to represc'iil d in the alt'- ily groups sn irm historiciil utility to till ts, neither h- as his equal-, one who li;i individual n- e of gener;i that ever livm led in that di- ligher objed lit of •■ l:'b()ii- «'nt of scicnci', )jects with ill fail to be fic- in iuiagiuali\c fcii overcoiiH, itlle connuuii I arc oidy m' wilncss thciii ling a covey o! mistake woultl tive habits aiiJ cnerally kuow" then SoniuMi use shall cease to see lords ami ladies afield with hawks ujion ir wrists, which the naturalist detects as pertaining to the alter short-winged tribes, and which he consequently knows to b0 incompetent to achieve the purposes which they are represented « about to accomplish. TVor is it the illustrative portion of Mr. Audubon's work which is alone deserving of the highest commendation. In addition, and as an explanatory accompaniment to his magnificent volume of illusUations, which now consists of one hundred plates, he has ju»t published a volume of letter-press description, which abomuls witli anuisiug historical narratives of the habits of the feathered race, from the blood-thirsty eagle, ' Upborne at evening on resplendent wing,' which the increasing population of the United States is prp- bably, every year, driving westward from its ancient eyries, to the uccimiplishcd and delightful mocking-bird, the acknowledged leader of whatevci- tuneful band may gladden the silence of the AflJeiicau woods. We bear in melancholy remembrance the fate of such a man as Le Vaillant, who devoted his life, and exhausted his fortunes, in th«|^completion of his ornithological labours, and then died neg- lected and in poverty, in the midst of those who.se admiring love of Jcience might Iiave consoled, in his hours of sorrow, that ' old man eloquent,' who, in the ardour of his youthful years, had added so much of what was beautiful and unknown to their former stock of knowledge ; and who, surviving a lengthened sojourn beneath the binning sun of Africa, and returning unscathed by the fangs of wild beasts, and the poisoned arrows of wilder bushmen, little dreamed, that in the centre of European civilization his hopes should reap such a harvest of affliction, that his grey hairs shoulil rue even the lion's mercy which had spared him in his youth : — ' For homelcKs, near a thousand homes, he stood ; And near a thousand tables, jiined and wanted food.' [t, believing that a far different and brighter destiny awails our erican ornithologist, and, delighting to think that our own ;es may be, in some measure, subservient to his success, by e.\- nig the knowledge of a publication which necessarily labours er disadvantages from its rather unwieldy dimensions, we shall endeavour to increase the interest which we hope the reader already feels in his favour, by here recording a brief sketch of his history, aiul that of his great work, with which, we doubt not, the enthusiastic auliior i., prepared to sink or swim. ■ ;Mr. Audubon, it appears, is a citizen of the United States, but of 348 American OrnUholofjy. of French parentage, if not of French birth also. For twent; years of liis nianliood, liis life was a succession of vicissitiido He attenipteil various branches of connnerce, all of which provu unsuccessful, chiefly in consequence of his mind being pervadii by a single passion, — the desire of cxploi ing the wilderness o: nature, and of endeavouring to express, with his pencil, wiiat In and nianv oilier lovers of natine must Irivc often felt to be iudtu inexpressible. From his earliest years, the productions of natiin which, in the western world, are impressed widi features of singula magnihcence, lay scattered around him. lie was fortunate in po- sessiug a father who deeply felt and revered the grandeur of tin works of omnipotent wisdom, and who took delight in directiii: his youthful mind to their contemplation. ' He spake of plants, divine and strange, That every lioiir their lilossoins cluiiige Ten thousand lovely hues ! With budding, fading, faded flowers. They stand the wonder of the bowers, From morn to evening dews. He told of the magnolia spread High as a cloud, high overlicad! The cypress and her spire, — Of flowers, that with one scarlet gleam Cover a hundred leagues, and seem To set the hills on fire. And he of green Savannahs spake. And many an endless, endless lake, '\^''ith all its fairy crowds Of islands, that together lie, As quietly as spots of sky. Among the evening clouds.* No wonder, then, that the love of nature and of nature's woiL should, in after years, have haunted him like a passion. ' They soon,' says Mr. Audubon, in his introductory address, ' iif (■anie my playmates ; and before my ideas were suthtientiy foruu il ; enal)le me to estimate the difference between the azure tints of tiii sky, and the emerald hue of the bright foliage, I felt that an intini.in witli them — not consisting of friendship merely, but bordering « frenzy — must accompany me through life ; and now, more than ever am I persuaded of tiie power of those early impressions. They i.i- such liold uj)on me, that, \ ,.en removed from the woods, the prairio and the brooks, or shut up from the view of the wide Atlantic, I iX" perieneed none of those pleasures most congenial to my inind. Noi'i but aerial companions suited my fancy. No roof seemed so secure 1' me as that formed of the dense foliage under wliich the feathcn"! tribes were seen to resort, or the caves and fissures of the nins^v rock-. bl American Ontillioloijy, 34!) Tor tweiit, f vicissiliidev which piovtt ;iiig perviuki wihioinoss c; )i)cil, wliut Ik t to be iii(iti:i oils of nature res of singula tiiimte in poi aiuleiir of tin it in liirectiii: iiatnie's woiL ion. y address, ' ht- leiitly funned t' ure tints of tin liat an intim.u) it bordering («• more than ever. oii:s. They l.ii. Js, the prairiis. i Atlantie, I I'X* y rniiid. Ndh- ned so secure tv 1 the featlierr! JS of the nias»; ' • rock-. Iks, to wliieh the dark -winged cormorant and tlie curk'W retired to t, or to {irotect themselves from the fury of tlie temi>est. ' A vivid pleasure shone upon tiiosc days of my early youth, attended \]i a ealiniiess of feeling that seldom failed to rivet my attention f )r irs, whilst I gazed witli extacy upon tlie peurly and shining eggs, as ly lay emliedded in the softest down, or among dried leaves and igs, or were exposed upon tlie burning sand or weatlier-heaten Meks of our Atlantic shores.' tie next describes his initiation into tlic inyslciics of the art of lilting : — I grew up, and my wislics grew witli my form. These wislies, lid reader, were for the entire possession of all that I saw. I was ^vi'iitly desirous of becoming acquainted with nature. For many ywrs, however, I was sadly disai'pointcd ; and forever, doubtless, I SB^st have desires that eanuot be gratified. The moment a bird was dead, however beautiful it had been when in life, the pleasure arising irom the possession of it became blunted; and although the greatest c^es were bestowed on endeavours to preserve the appearance of na- tw^, 1 looked upon its vesture as more than sullied, as requiring von- stwit attention and repeated mendings, while, after all, it could no loi{ger be said to be fresh from the hands of its maker. 1 \\ishe(l to polliess all tiie productions of nature, but I wished life with them. Tttlk was impossible: then what was to be done? I turned to my fftther, and made known to him my disappointment and anxiety. He puMuced a book of illtislrations. A new life ran in my veins. I tUIJied over the leaves with avidity ; and although what I saw was QOt what I longed for, it gave me a desire to copy nature. To nature I went, and tried to imitate her, as in the days of my childhood 1 had trifd to raise myself from the ground and stand erect before nature hm imparted the vigour necessary for the success of such an under- taking.'— Introduction, p. ">. ^.jr'or many years lie felt sorely disappointed when ho saw that bl^ own prodnctioiis were worse than those in the work which his ! VOL. XLVii. iNo. XLiv. l.Jii damped 350 American Onnlhohxjy. tinmped the ardour even of surli an enthusiast as Mr, Audubon, Having occasion to leave the village oi" llendeison iu Kentucky, wiu'ie lie iiad re.iiilcd for several years, and to pioceed to JMiihi- delpliin on business, he deposited all his long-cherisiied drawings in a wooden box, and consigned diein to the care of a friend. AlUr an absence of several months, one of his earliest pleasures, on returning home, was to open his box, — ' The box was produced and opened ; — but reader feel for niu— :. pair of Norway rats had taken possession of the whole, utid iuid vv.iwi a young family amongst the gnawed l)its of papi'r, width, but a fiu months before, represented nearly a thousand iuhabitiints (jf the air! Tliejjurning heat which instantly rushed through my brain was too pfreat to be endured without affecting the whole of my nervous systoni, I slept not for many nights, and my days passed like days of ol^liviuii, until the animal powers being recalled into action, through tht strength of my constitution, I took up my gun, my note-book, ai:! my pencils, and went forth to the woods as gaily as if nothing hal happened. I felt pleased that I might now make mucli I)etter draw- ings than before ; and when a period, not exceeding three years ha. elapsed, I liad my portfolio filled again.' — p. 13. With sucii a zealous and unwearying dcternjination not to bi baiHed, we can scarcely wonder that his efforts were eventualh crowned with the most signal success. During his boyhood In was sent for a time to Europe, and at the age of seventeen Ik returned from France to America. Meanwhile, David, the grc;i; French painter, had guided his hand in tracing objects of a largi size : — ' Eyes and noses belonging to giants, and heads of horses repre sented in ancient sculpture, were my models. Tlicse, although f subjects for men intent on pursuing the higher branches of the ai were immediately laid aside by me. I returned to the woods of tl. new world A\ith fresh ardour, and commenced a collection of drawing' wliicli 1 thenceforth continued, and whicli is now publishing under & title of" The Birds of America." ' So entire was Mr. Audubon's devotion to his favourite pursuit? and so much did he love the stuily of natural histoiy for ilsell alone, that it was only within these few years, on becoming acci- dentally acquainted, in Philadelphia, with Charles Lucien 15oii;i- parte, tiiat he began to have anyUiing in view beyond the sinipit' enjoyment of the sight of nature, and the practice of his art. Alti'i visiting IMiiladelphia and New York, he asceiuled the Hudson river, and crossing over some of the great lakes, he exploml many of the paUdess and gloomy forests which border the nnirgiiis of those magniticent waters. ' It was in these forests that, for tlje first time, I communed witli ' h I ...'■■ , _ UlJ'Si'i; I ■ons, Firs. yimrrican Ornifliologi/, 3.31 Audubon, Keiitutkv, ml to IMiil'i- (Iravviiif^siii R'lul. i\lti'r casiircs, on eel for niu— 3 (1 luid leaiid ch, but a few ts of tbe ail! )raiii \vas toe rvoiis system, |,'S of oblivion, throi]}>-h the 3to-book, ami f notliinj^ hai better draw- "ee years ha^ m not to bt e eveiituallj boyhood 111 seventeen lii vid, the grcii: ct9 of a larijt horses repre ;, although t es of the ar woods of tl. n of drawing' liing under tlii urite pursuit? ;oiy for ilseii iconiing acci- Lucien Bona- lid the siiiiplt' his art. AlUr the Huiisoii he explored ;r the niargiiii jmmuned witii uiysei! -dj'self ns to the possible event of my vixitinpr Europe apain ; and I •|(t^an to fancy my work under the innltiiilyiiif^ eHbrts of the prraver. •)J;iIii>y (lavs, and niichts of pleasini; (Uvauis ! J read over the cata- tjjiie of my eoileetion, and tiionglit liow it might be possible for an icoiinected and unaided individual like myself to uccomjilish tho £-,ind schenu'. diance, and ehaiice alone, had divided my drawings to three ditferent classes, depending upon the magnitude of the ob- ets w liieli they represented ; and altliough I did not at that time bssess all the siiccimens necessary, I urranged them as well as I Juld into jiareels of five plates, each of which now forms a nund)cr of jy IHustration.s. I improved the whole as nmch as was in my power; d as I daily retired farther from the haunts of man, determined to feavp nothing midone, which my labour, my time, or my purse could Accomplish.' — p. 1 1. ^ 'I'lic pr(( cding extracts will suflice to show that Mr. Audubon j4 one of those men who so dcterniiiuiteiy devote themselves to a f&n''-' purpose, tliat life and health being vouchsafed, it is almost Sjiossibh; for lliem not to succeed in its attainment. The na- al consecpience has been, that, froui a romantic and unknown odsman, with as forlorn a hope of European celel :ity as could ipll be imagined, he has now beconu-, and is acknowledged to be, ^ iii.st ornithological draftsnum of his age. ,, • L'acadt'mie,' says Baron C!uvier, in a recent report to tlie Royal .Ajb.'ulcmy of Sciences, ' m'a charge de lui rendre un compte verbal de fduvrago (pu liii a ete conminnique dans une de ses preced'jntes seances par M. Audtd>on, et qin a ])0ur objct les oiscaux de I'Ame- < of liinls, mi'j^lit until iidw liave been well tleeined cliinierieal. Uiirely, iiuleeil, do we sue tiieir out- ward forms reiireseiited witli aiiytbiiiL^ lilt list, with any pretensions to extent or accuracy, was published by !Mr. Jcilerson (whose neglect of Alexander U ilson would havr induced us to look for him under any other character than that of an ornithologist), and contained the names of only lOi) species.j- It was followed by Mr. \\ illiain JJartram's, which t>nuinerat'(l 21 J diflerent kinds; I and notices of some ailditional species aiu given by Dr. Belknaj), §> J)r. IJarton,;! anil Dr. Williams.*! '" the twelfth edition of the Sijalc.ma Nulnnc, whicli professed to contain all the birils then known to inhabit the United States (Catesby and iulwards being his principal sources), Liinueus assigns only 19^ to 2sortli America: — ' It is true,' says M. Bonaparte, ' that lie was acfpiainted with several other North American birds, which also iulialiit other coun- tries,— those common to Europe esjiecially ; but as many of the I!).'.' * As liiii" I'X.imiilos of llii! litluij^raiiliic art, ainilioil t.) oniitlioloj^icMl R'jiri'si'iit,!- tion, wo may ineiitiou tliu work tMitillLMl ' A ( L'utur of Hirils iVum tliu Iliiiialayi Jloiiutaiiis,' iiy Mr. (ioulil, ut'lln; 'AmA^'^lcul Sm'iity. Wi; reijivt t ho absuiice ul' i'^- lilaiiatiuy K'ttLr-jucss in a I'lililicition ni' hiu-Ii iiitfivst, Imtli iVdiii tlio iiuvflty oi' 'Is subjects and the liLMiity (if its cvcciirnm. We aro aware that wo aro imiinisoil tin' iloscriptivi! ami liist'ivii-al piirliDii from tlio poii of .Mr. Vi^jfnrs ; hut our assurauc-o th.il ill sufli lianils it will lio most aMy iiorlorino'l, only liicnMses our di'siro that tlic cdf- resiioiiilinj,' luttor-press sliouUl ai-oomii.uiy tho ilJlivory of (.'acli f.isJcuhis of flio ilhi,- tratious. !• Notes oil Virginia. 1782. I Travels tlirouj^h N'ortli and .South (Jaroliua. \7'J\. ^ History of New Ilampsliire. 171)1. II I'VaLjmeiits of the Natural Ilisturv of lV!ius\lva;iia. 179'). ^ History of Vonnoat. ISOJ. ttl'i! njoiv til tfeiably t fad, ni gical licl Hope di, birds ill M)('cirs Briliiin ; m\u:\i 1 t ■!!..■ I modi ;■: nop/' ni^ , pans 1 1 iihi. In-. ■:...., dcd, I'll.-.-' Bewii-k";, S swift, ahum Amcilvan Oni ilhn}\, iibli^linl In would liave tliaii ibat of )() .spccics.i- omiiucrati'il 1 .spcciis aic liaiiis.*! Ill protcs.scd lo uiti.'d Stall's s), J^iuniuu.') iiaiiitcd with t Otlll'l- couii- ly of tlK! I!).:; ;ic;il rujirosi'ilta- ui the Iliiiialay.i J iibsc'iux' ol' i"i- \ii novelty 1)1' 't-i in- promisoil tin' v ussuraiiCL' iImI w tli.it tlu- ciir- nilus ol'tliL' ilUiv ai'ii jIt merely iioiinriiil, wo may allow tliem to rountci'Lalancc tliosc Aiittcil. Of tlic I'litire iiiiiiil of, lO.'J ai'e luiid-lMi'ds, all of wliicli we ■uvi' v.-rifii'd either as real or nominal, four exeepted, of wliieli I'iins iflfiuiiliitiii-i'iis alone (a real species) may liave eseaped Wilson and oiir- Jfcives. Of tiie tlinc ri'mtiiniiiL^s t\\o, Luniiis Cnniidciisis and l.o.un mitiuulfiisis, ure now well known to Le South American birds, given as jjorlli Amcriean l)y mistake ; and the third, Si/liin. Irnc/ii/iis, of Kii-- Djie, iiiav have liecii reckoned as Am;'rican, on jiccoiint of the rescin- luiae hetweeii it and tlie female of ^onie American warbler, probahly \ii in Iriclnts.' f .Since llic lime of J.innu'iis, several real, and a still greater iiiiihtr of a|)parenl, additions have been made to Ameiieaii briiitJiolojzy. Wilson dtsciibed 'J7(> species. \\\ \\\c Intlcx Oi- til/iold^'-Jciis of ly.itliain, not fewer than 404 names arc tinolleil IS indicative of itiiiis native to Is'orlli America ; but so jiieatly Surtliari;cd with nominal species is lliat lenj;tiieiieil list, that not- »illi>taii(iin';- the nmnerous anil well-establislieil adilitioual species )|iii h litive since been described by American and other writers, Be actual number of clearly ascertained species did not, a few Bms a;.;(), amount to 400. * Per ora,' says C L. llonaparte, ritini; in KS'J", ' si tnmoverano ']<)() specie nell' America Sct- atrionale;' and \\c may add, that .'Jyi of these occur in tlio fhiled Slates. Now the number of biids in J'^urope may be ited as not less than i][)J) ; but as its ornitliolouy is in a more iviinced sttige than that of Morlli America, and consetpiently iMs remains to be eirected in the way of further discovery, there CjRn be little doubt, tlnit mIicii the latter country shall have been I^lorc thoroiiLihly esplored, its feathered tribes will be found coiisi- Wiiibly to exceed those of Kurope. \\ c may mention a single fitt, en passinif, with a \iew to illustrate the extiaordinaiy /oolo- ff|cal riches of moic southern climates. In the Cape of (Jootl loiie district alone there arc above one hundred more species of irds than are found throughout the whole of l',uro|)e, 500 belies having been ascertainetl to inhabit that colony.''' (neat lril;ii!i and Ireland produce only '277 diffcieiit kinds of birds, of ^lieh 1 I'i are land-birds, anil 13 J aie water-birds and wadeis.'|- Th^ ^HJiitli Al'iiiMii *Juaiti;ily Joiinial, No. I., \t. 10. 'llu; riiUiiV.in;^ siuiniiary of mir IVatlii icmI trilus, clashed in aci'onl.incc witli tliO lA^luii hvsliMn, iu.,y nut Iji.' uniuli'icMinL; to thi; shukiit iil' liiilisli OniilluiloKy. :|pAi'i(.ii!r,-, — 'Jr Njuciis. or llu M', two i:iv lutL'ul aci[uisiliiins: viz., A'"7'//m"( ptrc- Wtrim and Sm/mi (Slri.r) '/(/(.ywifi ';;/i. tl;;iin'(l. tlirmi;;h inailverti.'iici.', as Au(/i/i» N^*m/m, ill Mr. SiUij's ' iruistiations of hiitisli Onutl'.uloj.cy,' pi. 'Jd, vol. i. ^'lNsrsso!u:s — lOi spi-i-iis. Of tlii'so, I'ifiht ari' nivv ; v:/.., Cuniiai (Sy/clii) Siir- teka, Ciirrwi! .ii/h-ir/la, I'/iwiiiriini ( S;//iiii) I'lthys, .U< rutin- ii/iiiiiiis, ^ tiilhii.i liiihurilii, iiiiin riifrijilis, Kinheiizii liurliiliiHus ; tile saniu as the ^ri on-lifailcil liiniliiif,' of \yifk".s Suj'iilui.unl.") nuil I'lfih-i.jih' ii'is / ii/)//ii)iit(i. l'iji'!.r/-ix n/jil/iiix, a spicirs of nvil't, uljuaduut in tliu Sjiiili ol'Kuroif has I a' a lately ihot ollthi; t'oiiit ui' Iivland. 354 •Ampr'ican Ornitholnrjij, Tlio spcrirs of iMiropo and of Noitli Ainciic!* liavo bcrti rliisst (1 midrr 10? pciit'iii,* of wliicli >. Taiia;;ra ( a) ;i:i. Hyhia d'J. Irin^dl.i ;)i. Aci-i'iitiu' ( r.) ,^0. I'WTllMJ.l, ;;"). .Saxifoli :>\. ],u\ia ;i(i. .Molac'ill.i (v.) 52. Cohiinha 37. Aiilhns OnDKK ClAl.l.lN 1.. .l.-). I'.'idix r.7. Plfrocl'.'s (l.;) r.ii. Tt;lr.iu OiU)i:ii (iuAi.uii. .')». 'i'urnix (\:) (V.i Vunelhis (i-:) fi7. (irns fit. .Stri'pilas C,^. C'iioaia (k) (ij. lliruiatoiuis (10. .\rdi'a 00, Glart'ola yv.) 70. Arannib (a) ffi. 'I'.int.il 87. nUvnr Sut. 9. 1. arils i.L.lris I'lu.vi; l)l„ ■\.us lit will |h th piis. li riliiiu'(- willi iids of I'lii- 1, Durliaiii, mill iMiik us aUrili'.li wliit'll, liciwrvi,, inl'iiuil 111 llii' 1'' (I Mr. VairviW : I. I'lcliilllit mill: iiiiiic/iii lias alv. SL'tteiitiloiuilc ll liy fill! lultiT A. rulluwcil I'V th'. ■Ipc in JTcnrrsil exceed tlui wntcr ones by about HO species ; those f|llie Uiiitetl States exceed the wiiter-biiils by towards jO ; while, ||(ii'eat ISiitain, (a fael to be expected tVoiii our insular po.sitiiiu, itadeoiisecpicnllv extended siiores, as well as iVoin the lunuber of our mbialier islands,) the land-birds prevail over the water ones by not Ipore than seven species.* The birds of the continental kingdoms 0 luirope exceed those of the Ibitish empire by nearls I'JO, ll^nh' the coimnoii grouse or nioor-game is the oidy species of ;ji|||)ich we can with certainty boast the ex«:lusive possession. ,10 We come now to tlie work which is placed last in our list, tough it is In no means the least important in onr estimation. II classes of readers ar<^ well actpiainted wilii Dr. itiehardson's jflaims to respect as snrgt'on and naturalist to two of the most •Emiukal)le expeditions which were ever planned ami executed by pie enterjirise of JSritoii.s, and with Ids high merits as the intrepid Jader of one of the cxploi ing parties, and a chief actor and suf- icr amid scenes of imminent ; I. lliiiiaiitu|nis 77. Liinosa 78. Si'dliiiias 7!l. U.illus 80. I'Drphyiio (k'j 6\. (ralliuiila 8J. I'lilirii ■ iJ.J. I'li.ilaropiis SI. KtHMirxiiustra b:>. I'latali'a 80. Pliujiiicoiitcrus 101. I'o.loa (a) KIJ. I'udiciiis 10!. ('(ilyiiibiiB 10 1. Ilia 10.-). Phalfris (a) ion. ;\iiiriiiiiii 107. Alca Oui)i;h Anseiii:3. ItliyiK-liops (a) !I 1. i\IiTi;iis ■■sli'ina ''Hi.i tiiuM. aliiivo miniiiL'ratcd, viz.: — (iarniliis, Tlial.issiiliuina, I'lifliuus, - K^T"^' * •^"""'^' l's^ ami tliu last is ll.u iiiily one of wliiili tlio t\in! n couslitjtL'il liy a new sin'cius. Tin.' tulal iiuml'Lr of i,'uiuTa foiiml in Noith Aiiifiic.i _}8 also llure sUtwl as iimuiiiitiiig to iiiiicty. — -cu AiiikiIs uf the Lyceum uf Aaliiru/ .""J"'':i "f-'^''"' 1"'*, vi.l. ii. p. ^.51. ' '" ""' i'l'iivi' I'luinK'r.itiou w(! class the Gra/hilvni, or waik'is, aloni' with t\w ' ♦•ati.T-low I, inopuvly so tallul. author 3jG American Ornttholor/y, aullior and diaftsmaii ; and the result of tlieir combined efforts juesenttj a most impoitaiit aildition to our stock of kno\vlod<;e.* The very abuudauce of our nuitcriahs, however, ahuost detcis us from entering on tlie contemphition of so rich a hekl, and it ■would be difticult, widiin the usual bounds of a jicriodical cssny, to undertake die discussion of more than a few of its varied and inexhaustible features, — indeed, we shall probably be thought lu Jiave already engrossed too much of our readers' time. We may ol)serve, in tiic lirst place, that, in the class of birds. the geographical distribution of individuals of the sauu; speciis, is nuich more widely spread than that of (juadrnpeds — a fact to be anticipated simply from their possession of wings. 15ut even the ostrich, wliich is so nearly deprived of those characteristu organs as to be incapable of raising itself from the surface of tlu earth, thougii confmcd to Africa, is yet spread over a g eat extent of that vast contiiu-nt from the Cape of Good Hr)pc to the C\r naik, and from the Cape tie \ erde to the straits of J5abel-Maniki, The osprey, a species of iishing eagle {Falco lialiiUus), occui^ identically the same in the north of Scotland, the south of I'^uropt. and along tiie shores of ISew Holland. We have seen Chinc.«t drawings of the goshawk (Falco pahunbarius) entirely resembhn: our native species ; and from what wc know of its intermediiiU stations, we may safely conclude that it inhabits the whole of tli;i vast tract of territory from the south-eastern extremities of Asii to the most western shores of Europe, and across the broad ex pause of the Nordi American continent. The lanmier-giu {(jypdios haihatua of Storr), the largest, or at least die longt.^ winged of all the European birds of prey, haunts the steeps d * It is woitliy ol' ii'c-cnii'M'iitfd uu insunnoiuitable olistaclr, 1 not his late Majesty's (^ovciiimcnt lent a liljfial aid to tliu undiitakinjj;. On an" I'lication wliich had the ajinoval of the Secretary of State for Colonial alliiirs. li 'J'reasury panted KKId/., to t;e aiijilied solely towards defraxinjj; the exjienses of 'i illustrations. Of that sum, fidO/. was allotted to the qiiadrniieds and hirds. anil i. other moiety to the iis^hes, insects, and jilants. As the resolt of this enlii^htii. ]iatronapv, we have already, in tlie iiirnier volume of the I'amni, twenly-eiuhl ailiw rahle ]ilates, drawn and en;;raved hy I\Ir. 'i'hon\'is LaniUeer, and iiftj-two lij.'iiui I'M'cuted m litho'^raiihy, witli his ;'cc\istemed skill, hy I\Ir. Swainson, and licanliliii.; cohnucd, adorn the jirescnt volume, which contains, in addition, ahove forty woiid-cu!' repre^entinij; chiefly the heads and feet of species. A\'e say nothin;,' of llie hoti.im. ilil'ar'.ir.i'nt ; hut wlioever is aci|uainti.'il with the taste "and talents of rrofi--' lliKiker, will not douht that it will be atiiieved in such a manner us to do honei;v: the scienlif'c diaracter (d' iJritain. ^V(• shall nut lure do more than allude to an inadvertence which Mr. S. has ciii iiiittid, hy allowintj liis cntliusiasni for a favourite lansoit to had Idm astray {»^ '•■ this c.ise it may 1 e called) into a':iither and nu.re iii!p(ntant sul ject, hetwfi'n wliic: and his peculiar \ ru\iuce we do not ]iirceivi! the j ossihilily of a connexion. (7'wf JJvna/i-.IiiniiLO"^., l';;rt ii. lulroUuetory Obseivations uii tlic Nutiirul Sybteni, p''"' till; ■In re; and die ajRB Moiit Zt)|e. u<( #' I'"' ■UaJvas I WMd.s or Qf.)iic c. ■jjt 'j'iii.s nof iMiTot a|.,n,,. ■f inro-l.t tilt I says «(1 iia E4i«-ar(ls- that lio probably No. 8.-,. the ()l).s( Gttiut's a; J American Ornitholofjy. Of.f ibincd oft'orts .no\vlcd;j;c.* almost dctuis I field, and it liodical cssny, its varied and be thought to e. class of birds, same specit's. ^ds — a fact to ITS. 15ut evei! chaiacleiistic surface of the ' a g eat oxtcnl le to the Cvn- I5abel-Maudil, diiUus), occui' ulli of lunopc. : seen Cliincst rely rcsembiiii! ts intermedlaU e w hole of thii: L'mities of Asii i the broad ex ! lammer-ii;i'}i .•ast the longi* s the steoi)s n ,• putilisla'diuulirt! uci'ssary, witli ii vii 111! c'sjit'Ciully ill li liy iiu':viis (il li};uir mitiiljle obstiu-li', 1 itjikiii};. On nil. 1!; Coluiiial allairs. tb tlu! i^Xpi'IlSl'S 111 '1' s and billl^. and i'; : of tliis t'nlii;bfi^ I, t\viMity-i'i;;lit ailiw lu.d IH'tj-lwi) il|.'iii>'^ uihuii, and litautiliil.; duivi' i'lii'ly wiiiiil-''"'' liiii'4 111' Uic liotiiim- talents of riofc>:-0 cr as to dii liunoi'.v- lii(di Viv. S. lias CUV' tad luni astray ("'''; ,il jict, bi'twi'i'ii vim-: I coniH'.Nion. (i'.w" s'iitumlSytjtcni, !'■■'''• llii; llH Pvrcncan mountains, and the central Alps, from Piedmont t#.Dai'natia. Jt was described as an E6q, S.). Hie Count treats with the same contempt tiie authority of «• observant and veracious Captain Cook, who, in defaince of "the C#liiit's canon, liud the luirdiucss to trust to the evideueo of his own bCllbCS, 558 American Omithohrjij. senses, and assert that he saw parrots in tlie isle of New Zealand, an^ even to suffer Captain Furneaux to blab out that ]>airakeets were inhabitants of Van Diemen's Land, the very extremity of New IId:. land — both of them countries interdicted by the illustrious natural^ to the wliole parrot race. How greatly, again, has our aide navigntor aggravated matters by not silencing the learned Furster for proving more than one species to be found in the raw, wtt climate of IJii^k, Bay, in hit. 40 ; and to make bad worse, to connive at several of tht conii)anions of his voyage bringing into this kingdom not fewer tlia: eighf sjjccies of this vagabond genus, which had dared to take ir their residence beyond the gein'al limits of the torrid zone, which t! Count de ButTon had so authoritatively decreed to them, and, like : great creator, had said, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther!" " The only representative of this family foiuui in tlic I nilcd Stalt: is tlie Carolina parrot, of which the otiier supposed species {PaW- taciis jierfinax) is the young. It inhabits the interior of Louisiaii:, and the shores and tributary waters of the Mississippi and Ohio and extends even beyond the Illinois river to the neigiibourhoo': of Lake ISIicliigan, in the 42° north latitude. • From these circumstances,' says Wilson, ' we might lie justified'; concluding it to be a very hardy bird, more capable of sustaining cii than nine-tenths " the tribe ; and so I believe it is, having mysi Been them, in the vnonth of February, along the banks of the Ohio,:: a snow-storm, flying about like pigeons, and in full cry.' t Jt appears, however, to h t more restricted on the eastern si. of the iMlegliany range, where it is seldom seen farllier north tli?. the state of Maryland, although a few stragglers are now and tlu met with in the vallies of the Juniata, or even about t\ventv-li miles to the north-west of Albany, in the state of New York We may judge of the abundance of this specii s, even up to recent period, from the statement of \ aillant, who assures us tl: lie saw a packet, containing above six thousand skins of tiiis bir which were sent to a j>luma.ssior at Paris for the formation ornamental dresses. § Mr. Audubon, however, informs us, th. their numbers are now rapidly diminishing, and that, in sons districts, where, twenty-five years ago, they were very plentilii' sc:ncely one is to be seen. • At that period,' he adds, ' they could be procured as far up the tr; hutary waters of the Ohio as the great Kcnhawa, the (Scioto, t:, heads of the Miami, tlie mouth of tlie Maniniee at its junction ut Lake Erie, on the Illinois river, and sometimes as far north-east »• Lake Ontario, and along the eastern districts as far as the boundar line between Virginia and Maryland. At tht jirescnt day, very U'' * Ilull'M tl) till; I'lillK-lil'S Kllllll.!il.t'uS. f Ami'rican Oniitlmio^y, Constalilv's '■(lifiuii. vul, i Ji. IIS. ,; Uiirtoii's Fiaf^niriits i>t tliu Xatiiial llistoiy of IViuisylvauia. Ij Ilibtoiro Natua'llu dcs I'enonuits. JUt|to be f( ingilth of t b«iR. 1 shi tbv niiuibei lie oth li!,-hii'd!! Jntinn 1 'hiiu natn sceh liy C ' «ic < lin tH^ trdje. 4|]^le-lands ^wy mo denied t )otka S 3\;uider lus rolitl doubt, the of iCauadii tbeve two ( U«||r tiie h dtUtcc of jR'e havi TttJi-nccke' short s ; ai inicated dimin iaits of itory in |r rcmar '^r in^lin Imi if die When iv flee al rc'liirn K' it, th; Ik! mi IJ' el ol tO^iUv. flu- cidcuhacil these, the iUght of tl tjieir gigii liroad vai ' But k W i: .American Ornllholnrj)/, 2o9 Zealand, am', iMkcets were ui New IJ(,:. ions riatiirulis ;il)le navigiUu: .T for proviii:; nate of i)u-l, several of th t fewer tli;.: ed to take i; )iie, wliicli t! ni, and, like lo farther!" " nitcd Stall species (/-'.vf'- of Louisiana )pi and ()lii> eiglibouiiiou t he justified '; Mistaining n/ haviiip^ iiiysi of tlie Ohio,!: .'t 0 eastern sii' her north tli: now and tin )iit t\vcnty-(i New Voik even up to assures ns ll: IS of this bii formation ifornis us, tli that, in son very jihMitiln far up the Ir: he iSeioto, t; s junction \vi' 1' north-east •; s tiie houiidiir; ; da)-, very U" . tis. •ylvaiiia. jUU|to be found hij^licr tlian Cincinnati ; nor is it till you reach the I^ltiiitth of the Oliio that jjarakeets are met with ia consideralde num- tHMb. 1 should think that alon? the Missisisippi there is not now lialf tht'numher that existed fifteen years ap;o.' 'dihe other group to whicii we alluded above — that of the huni- rtrth'.;-birds — is also characterised by a nuicli more extended dis- tm)ution tiian wi-.s formerly supposed, although it might have bwii naturall'' inferred, from the abundance in whicli they were 86^h by Condaniine in the (devated gardens of Quito, that a tem- pekite ( liniate was by no means adverse to the constitution of that tiny tribe. Mr. Bullock discovered several sjieeies on the lofty tgj>ii:-lanils of Mexico, ami iu tlio woods in the vicinity of the sppw) mountains of Oiizaba. Cook, indeed, had long before .pfpcnred the rntl'-neckeil species {Trocliilim vulliiris, Jjatli.) from .tifpolka Sound ; and Catesby, at a still earlier period, and ,i^s;ni(ler \\ dson, in latei' limes, described the species (7Vo- ■cif^us coluhris) so well known in the Lniti;d States. It was, no doubt, the latter species that was seen by Charlevoix in the interior o( jPanadu ; but it would be interesting to ascertain whicli of thejie two coniparativ(dy hardy kinds was n\et with by Mackenzie, lie|r the head of the Unjigali or Peace Uiver, in the iiity-fourlh ree of north latitude. 'e have alreaily nuMitioned that Kotzcbuc traced the beautiful -necked or Nootkaliununing-bird to the 6\ along the western res ; and when we take into consideration the facts lately com- m^Ilicated by Captain King, who met with numerous members of t||i^ diminutive family Hying about in a snow-storm, near the Stjaits of Magellan, we shall perceive how great an extent of .teijilory in the new world is occupieil by die Trochilicke. llow- «,yj|r remarkable may be the lustre of their resplendent plmnage, thiir instinctive courage is still more worthy of our admiration, at Jeasl if there is truth in renuuulez Oviedo, who writes thai — • When they see a man climb y" tree where they liavo their nests, MliBy (lee at his face, and stryke In'm in the eyes, eonunyng, goviig, Bflfl icliiriiyu^-, with such swyftness, that no man wouhle ryghtly iiu- liew it, that hath not seen it.'* FfP lie migration of birds has, imlecd, in every age, afliirdid a ■M^j' el ot pleasant, though sometimes inconclusive speculation tO'tiie students of nature ; but in no instance does it appear more calculated to call forth our admiration, than when exemplilied bv these, the frailest of the feathered race. The lofty ami sustained night oi the eagles and albatrosses seems only commensurate with tjieii gigantic size, and the irresistible sweeping of their ' .'•ail- broad vans ;' — ' Jbit how,' says Dr. ^iehardson, ' is our admiration of th" ways of * History of tlie West ladies, traiislutcd l.y llicliard Eden, p. 1 !•',). rrovidence 30O Amcrkan OrnilJiolof/y. Providence increased, wlicii we find that one of tlie least of its da*i c'lutlu'd in tlie most delicate and brilliant jjhimago, and iippari'iit; more fitted to flutter aljout in a conservatory than to brave the fw (if the l)last, should yield to few birds in the extent of its mif!;ration> 'J'he ruby-thtoatcd hunnuing-bird, which winters to the southward i. the United States, ranges, in summer, to the fifty-seventh paralk, and jierhaps even still farther north. We obtained specimens on tl, lilain.s of the Saskatchewan, and Mr. ]3rummond found one of tin nests ne.'ir the .'-ources of the Elk river. This nest is composed pri: cijially of the down of an anemone, bound together with a few st;ili of moss and lichen, and lias an internal diameter of one incli. T!: eggs, two in number, of a reddish-white colour, and obtuse at W ends, are half an inch long, and four lines and a quarter in transve^ diameter.' 'J'iii; principal value of tins volume of llio * Fauna J'oreal Americana,' in a merely ilcscriplive point of view, consists iiiii serving, in a great measure, to complete our knowledge of Noili American birds, by connecting, by an intermediate link, tlie onii ihologv of the I iiited States witii that of the piuelv arctic rcijioL of the new world.* We have already pointed out llie sources froi; * Mr. Sw.'.iiisou I'.as also liroui^lit bis cxtt'iisivi.' and nccMiriitu kuowU-djjfo of i- variotis i^muiis, ('.cilvrd IVoin a cart'iol analysis of tliuir t'oiistituent iiarts, lo bear u;-'. tlie (lil'lcult and iiuu-li-di-imtcd suljoct of tbc mitinal s_i/.\icin. Into tlif discussiuii. tliat vfjul(t ijiiiosl'wwv sluUl not at iTcsent enter; bnt we recommend to tbe stiuk'ul ornitliold^y a tarel'ul iiernsal of bis introdi:et(;ry observations ini tb.c tribes a: I'aniiiies of ibe insesso;i,d order. Tbe autbor's jirincipal object is to demonstrate ;i follouinji; iieeuliariiies in n.itnral arranj^enient, viz.: — 1. Tbat every natural serin beini^s, in its inogress from a s^iven iioint, eitber actually returns, or evinces a !•, (U iicy to return, a i^aintotbat I'.ii'.nt.tbereby forniini^a circle. "J. Tbat tbe contents of si: ■ a cin-le or j^roiijiare symbobciUy rcjiresented by tlie contents of ail otber circles iiu; same class of animals, — Ibis reseniblance beiiijj strong or remote in [iroiiortion to; j>roxiniitv or tbe distance of tbe Lrroujis coiiijuired. ,'i. Tbe primary divisions of ev' natural j^roup, of \v bate vc-r extent or value, are in ui;i:, eacb of wbicb forms its own cir Tbe lirst of tliuse proposiiioiis accords with Ibe views of Wacleay, Fries, Ajj;au ()ken, and olbers. Tlie llimry of rifirtst^iilaliun, us it may be called, wbicb ii- volved ill tbe second proposition, was Inst jiroiiiulgated in tbe llarrv IliiloiiHilfji' and, accordiu); to iMr. ^Swainson, it is tbe only certain test of a natural j^ro' ' Circles may be, and have been, formed with such a ileceitful aiiiiearaiico of folli \w^ n.iture, tbat tbe most eminent and the nu'st cautious liave been led into a li/ tbat they were strictly natural. If sucb a Ljroup is tbonj;bt to be complete or /"■'.' it is very well to say, put eacb of its divisions to tliu test of vetnrniiijj; into itself, '\-i tlie f.illacy will be discovered; bnt amoiifj; j^roups of a certain value, j^'euera and m ■ families more pr.rticidarly, tlieve is not one in tliree tbat cnn be so tested. Tliis: ability partly arises from our superficial accpiaintanee witb forms, and partly, asv: believe, from tliere beiiiLf many real ^'aps in tbe cliiiin of continuity. \\ itbout, tlitn- fore, siniie otber test for a natural ;;ronp tlian tbe mere cn'euin.-.tanee of its retiaiu;. into it-elf, or e\"n its simple ii.n-allelisin with a ciuitinuous j;'roup, 1 consider deicu;. siralion not to liave been att.iined. Tlie theory of re|ire'entatioii tlu:s steps in, iH- at (nice dispels ibe illusion, or ilemonstrutes tbe correctness of the series.' — /«''■■ ibntunj nh.iirvdiiiiiis, i'. \\i\. In tbe sub-families of jMyotberiiiie and I'ariana', .'^l' Sv. ainson lias in^'enionsly o.empbtied tliis principle of tbe iiiiloral system in all- b« '.riiii;s. — Fiiiiiiii HtiiKifi-.liiin-h iiva, \it\. ii., pp. 158 and 20'J. — It will be obser'i* in nr.ard to Ibe third proposition, that i\lr. .Swainson's circul.ir system difl'ers li"* tbat of lliu (^uinarians in the number of it,-; primary divisions. lie i.s of opai: ' tbat the pilm.ii v ciicles o( e.icli ;;roup are invarbiMy iuur;;;, luid these lie denui.' iiiilCiS tlic li/imu/, the su!i-li/jii<:ii/, and the abcnunt, OllI •; iiul I'lirtly. a''!'- . WitlKiut.tben- anna l?oreal; consists ill i; dge of Morn link, the oiiii arctic regioi, 2 sources tiu kno\vled!j;e of t |iarts, to bear u;- 0 the discussiui. id to the studeii; n th.o trilies t ^ _. _ o demoMbtiiitu ;j tb^tlerk of the latter vessel, whose name was JJrage, iii Ins y natural seiin < y^0;,ge by Hudson's Straits,' also illustrates severarpoints in n^lWal history. •*3w)r twenty years ensuing the last-mentioned period, no addi- ti0i|#l information was derived from these northern regions ; but Hr»1^^ illiain Wales, who went to Hudson's J'ay in 17()H, foi the piJ^ose of observing the transit of \'enus, was entrusted, on his return, by Mr. Graham, governor of the Company's post at Severn River, wi'h a collection of (juadrupeds, birds, and lishes, for jireseiitalion to the Royal Society. These speeiaieus were d^S'i^ribed by John lleinhold Eorster,* ami excited so imuii intflilest in the scienlilic world, that, at the desire of tiie Koyal So^-ty, directions were given by the governor and coiiiinittee of *«|^lndsou's l>ay Company that .subjects of iiatnial history slnilid be annually transmitted to JMigland ; and, accordingly, CO of itsretuun;. AMwliuiiphiev Martin sent several hundred specimens of animals tlu'rsttri'r'i': "'^**^''''^^^^'^'''^^^^^^ '*^ ^'^'■'' ^^''^^'''>' "*' ^^'''*^'' ''^ "'''^ governor. he'L^ies;-^V/''-^'f'«^*-'"^^''" successor of Mr. Martin, was still inore in- and I'ariaiue. M' oi'Mtious, for he not ouly prepared nunierous specimens, but '' 'i\nv',iWr '^''^'^ i'l> niinule descriptions of all the (piadrupeds and birds ilto'in ■liti'ei's'liott'^^*^^' l'^' t-onld olitai^, with interesting notices of their haunts, lie i.s of or A these he dcnui-- * rhil. Tiuus. 17/";i. ftt labits, Sfkx A morican Ornifhnfof/i/, habits, and native names. It was, in fact, from liis ol)scrvntinni tlial Pennant and Latliani cliiclly derived whatever was vuliinble: llieir works (' Arelic Zoology,' and ' General Synopsis of I')ii(|> rei^arding the featiiered tribes of Hudson's Jiay. Captain Cin.l tliird voyage (1777 — H) made ns acquainted witli .several f^wo of liie north-west coasts of i\merica and IJehring's Straits; In, from the want of engraved representations, and the subsrqii; destruction or dispersion of the specimens themselves, it is general difiieult, if not impossible, to identify the species indici: with piecision. Pennant's ' Arctic Zoology' appeared in l> and contains the most ample descriptive catalogue of An: i\merican birds which had appeared prior to the present voliiii;. These are the principal sources of information up to the pci> of our own scientilic expeditions by land and sea; for altlion Lndreville and llearnc illustrate the habits of some of them common species, and the voyages of Vancouver, Portlock, Mem and Langsdorfl", to the north-west, and the travels of Lewis; Clarke to the banks of the Columbia, contributed their mitt, very important results were thereby obtained, lischscholtz ■ ChamissOj'the naturalists attached to Kotzebuc's expedition, nu; supposed to have acquired some knowledge of the ornithoKr the north-west coasts; but no satisfactory report of tiieir zooloi; discoveries has hitherto reached this country. The zoological |' tion of the appendix to Captain Ueechey's voyage, entrusted, believe, to Mr, \ igors, will no doubt compensate for the va;: ness t>f the natural history notices introduced in the delii^h narrative of the vovallt dHol^Vy. 7)lil//lsx *.*lu' .Unla' ,jg.-, Inu'l. H 'weunlaiid. "♦'Fauna (in ■;j''Viz. Iu,/r„ '^ ' Iplcnis of ! AKinoir o: Tauna Bu American OrnilhohHji/. Utili s obscrvntinii. was valiinbli- jpsis of l>ii(|> Captain Coi,. 1 .several s|uti ;'s Straits; In, llic siibsc(|ih iselvcs, it Is pecies iiKlica: peaied in \'' jgiie oF A\r present vuliiii;- ip to the pen a ; for alllKn line of tli(^ Hi orllock, Mcai 'Is of Lewis, m1 llair mite, lisclisclioltz ; Epe(lition,iii3' e ornitlioli)^; f tlieir zoolo;: 3 zoological I' ;e, entrusted, e for the v;i; u the deligli garding tlicli rica, is conta ry. The spe withstandiiiL' — their s observed in tie 73'to7<3 ^ Ill's Hay Conipn; Ruvun, CuiVKS f '• « .liiiciiauiiis ', '' ^iolili-n iiliiviT, (' is; TuiiistouL', -' a; iiurjilu saiulj: liilli'd ]iluiliUiin'-' gull, Ao/'HS ljl>'" Vi- Ofiliosc species, thirty-four in all, the whole are migratory, sUtWiig on Melville Island in May, and departing in October. It wirt.be perceived that only a single accipitrine, or raptorial bird, qmM|]s in these high latituilos, — lliat there are only six species of ilflm birds properly so called, — and that all the rest are either wipr birds or waders.'*' The birds of Greeidand, as given by Fjwricius, amount to iifty-fonr ;(- and although live of his sup- pOK^I species are now known to be merely synonyms of certain otlw^ kinds likewise included in bis list, which of course would redilce the number to forty-nine; yet, as Captain Sabine has a(^^ie equally numerous at their breeding jjlaces, in winter and SUIMC^er. , ijirae distribution of the migratory and resident birds of northern cpiui^ies is governed, according to Dr. llichardson, by very diQfiifiit laws, as far as climate is concerned, — the influx of migratory species, for the purpose of rearing their young, being mucli more connected with the high sunnner temperature of tlio>e partljlels than with the mean amuial heat, which is very low, and affo|tls no criterion of the number or variety of the sunnner visitants. In fact, the mean annual temperature decreases, as we advinee northwards 1^ F. for each degree of latitude, while the deiSPease of mean heat in July does not exceed 1. There is no peijetual snow on any part of die fur countries, with the cxcep- Uoftx)f the more elevated portions of the Rocky Mountains. 1| ;. Ifo the two expeditions under the command of Sir John Fgwikli" we owe almost all that is audientic in our knowledge of the oniitholoay of the interior of the fur countries : and allhouuh the collecting of specimens in natural history formed, of course, 'Whtle-\viu^;i'(l f^'ull, A. /('iwiiptifiis ; Arctic silvcrv ^'uU, A. onjenlntoiilcs ; Ivory jjul!, Li'Vl^ijirifs ; Kittiwiiki', /,. ti-uhctijlii.s ; I'drk-taiiod ^wW.L, S,ibiiiii ; Skua y:^\i\\, iM^^ jifiiiiiriini ; Avctu! )^ull, Lcslns iiiirasilicii ; ruliiiujn;tii'l, I'mcil/iiftn i//in'i<(/is; BrtJuiich's t;uilK'iiuit, Crui ISniiinivhii ; Hlack guillfiiirit, U. jrij/'f: ; Litilo guiilu- ran, l' J/if ; Rfil-tliniatiHl ilivcr, I'o/i/i/ihiis nrpli nlriHiiiilis ; \Vild swan, ylnns (ygntts ; limit '^no>e, Jnsrr lieniic/a ; Kiiii; dink, Sowalrria spcctabilts ; Eider dudt^V.. miil/isximit ; loiif^-tailoil duck, llitir/ila y/iwni/if. : .*tjFli'' •'i''l'il"Hi(/-;(/(.'o i,yA(«(/(('«.v), tliuuj^'li iHit ubsi'ivi'd in Molvillo Island, visits edWiy lii:;!i l.ititudcs. It has lii'un seen in HalHii's Tliroo Isliuids', on tho west coast Of Weenland. in lit. 71. Limi. Trans, vol. xii. j). 528. f' F;iuna (ii-(Ciil;!ndica. tViz. I' dahi of lli. nature that a discovery of the laws which regulate the location birds can be elicited, we view his contributions to ornitholo^i. geography as of great value. Tiie subject, however, although n; of the highest interest, involves too many matters of detail to ailiii; of our entering at present upon its consideration. It appears that, csscnlidlhj, birds can scarcely be classed iniii the distinctive denominations of resident and migratory. TIioiil many Uiillions of a species may be observed to wing their wav certain seasons to or from particular countries, yet sonu; portm of these vast assemblages travel through a mucli shorter sp;i than oUiers, while perliaps an crpial number of the same spec sojourn for ever in the districts where they had their birth. Th in the Nordi (Jeorgian islands, all the individuals of every spcr are driven southwards in autumn by the extreme rigour of l hy[)erborcan region; there they are undoubtedly biids of passa^ In the central ami oUier portions of the fur-countries, aga: \\v. meet with species which occur there all the year round, a which, therefore, in llicir tuln^iUj, cannot be regarded as nii;^i tory, but of which many individuals depart in summer to the pul: shores both of continental America and of the North Cieoiy group ; while others (of the same species), on die approiicli winter, wing their flight to the United Stales. So, also, in I'cii sylvania we have several species which reside there throughout l! year, but of which, at the same time, numerous indiviiluals p • their summer in the fur-countries ; while, in die former stali * In iulditiim to these, tlie M. Boiiapaito emimerates thirty-six specie's wliich' p;rati! noitliwanls i'loin or throUi;h IVniisylvania in the spriiiy;, aii(l whicli, thn:;. not luiticeil liy I)i-. llieliarilson, may fairly he iiit'errs!(l to hrooil in the rur-cuMiiliio- Specchiu Comjxiralivo dclie OrniMujk Ui Jiona e di Fi/utk/fia, Pisa, IH'iJ, in;"', matty spe appear ih wmr race aw) even im conti OCCin spai •I'lni: ii V OMinple, I afi4j)i'ing tudes, and ngioiis as wfijlch fee( ^aikatche Hiarin and diy. for di( pjaces ill t V.Perc-,' sf Wy»,or a SI birds fur r( the soutlnv; Bay,-wliich, the north wi not tfiiuvec befoi* the setting' in the United iioH,]). 19. I^ is, of the,M8pecief retife farth such as re thoie whic DivlJicI tliSoine chasiii liister. !, wilic fwiff.tliu br [cts wh —J. and wHWh arc; inrfmdniils breediiiu;- j fill up the ^ fOKitheir eoi vol,. XL •-Ut a I )! American Ornithohf/y, :]C)5 c!o<>j;rai)liici .11(1 to as lb litl'iil 111 kiiim cult luliiew. Iliiij^ (laugit-, any way con. (1. Tllf \V(ll! forty spcc'u. t, (uitlicr fo; L'd Ijy Capta; 1)11 ot" our laii species iiili; Ireil and sixi , Dr. llitliiii and accuiar lecies, both i m da fa ol" lli. the location oinilliulu^ii r, altliouj^li II detail to atlii; classed urn: Lory. Thou. 11 <; their wav sonu- poitiii shorter spi: e same spec birth. Th f every spcr rit!;our ol t ids of pas.s;i^ untries, aga: ar round, a rded as nwp ler to the yw orlh Cleoi;:! le apiJioadi , also, ill I'll' tln-oui:;lu)iitt! ndividuals p ■ e former bUii ix spccii's wliicli ■■ iiiul wliicli, tlw- the rur-iM'iiilrio.- 1115'. m^y species occur during the winter season, which entirely dis- appear northwards in suininer, and leave behind no remnant of thisir race. Several of the species which breed in the temperate ■■4 ^'^^'i* northern parts of North America, either disappear from UhiI continent altogether during the colder season of the year, or Ojltiir sparingly in the southern states of the Union. Others take «iinii'> li wider range: the pigeon-hawk {Fitico ])alnmlmrins), for QXmii|)le, resides in Mexico during the winter, and on die approach offspring sets oil" at once for Hudson's Hay and other high lati- tudes, and is, consequently, only known in most of the intermediate n^oiis as a passenger in sj)riiig and autumn. The GruUatorex, whjlcli feed by preference in moist and marshy lands, frerpieiit the JJukatchewan prairies only in the spring; and as soon as the MWn and comparatively early summer has rendered the soil too dry, for their accustomed purposes, they retire to their breeding |l|aices in the arctic circle. %?j!here,' says Dr. Ricliardsoii, ' the frozen sub-soil, acted upon by tlio yaysof a sun constantly above the horizon, keeps the surface wet and spongy during the two short summer months, which suffice these, birds for rearing their young. Tliis office performed, they dejjart to the southward, and halt in the autumn on the flat shores of Hu(lsori'.s Bay, which, owing to accumulations of ice drifted into the bay from the nortliward, are kept in a low temperature all the summer, and arc not thawed to the same extent with the more interior arctic lands before the beginning of autumn. They quit these liaunts on the setting in of the September frosts, and passing along the coasts of the United States, retire within the tropics in the Avintur.' — Introduc- tioHt]). 10- It is, of course, difficult to ascertain whellicr the individuals of the species which breed in the higher latitudes are the same that retire farthest soudiward during the winter season ; and whether such as remain in the former latituilcs throughout tliat season are thoie which had previously bred in the same localities in summer. ©IV liichardson seems to think that such is the case. l.iftSome species seem to ( laim a right of property within a certain bw^ cliasing away with great pertinacity all the other birds that they luster. In tlie instance, also, of the Falconidcp, and some otiier i, which present a marked ditforonce in the plumage of tlic old ^oiuig, we observe that the hitler are expelled by their parents the breeding places, and appear, botli in summer and winter, in [cts whicli none of the old birds visit. From a consideration of and similar facts, wc are inclined to believe that, of the species In are found all the year witliin certain parallels, the younger 'Tmials make tlie widest excursions in search of food or proper breeding places; and chat, as tliuir strength is matured by age, they ^11 lip the casual vacancies which occur in the districts best' adapted fOK^their constant residence.' VOL. XLVII. NO. XCIV. ' ft e It V Ut SCO American (hnilhohujy. % Tt appcaiH from llu; tiiilli fable of lliis work {I n( rodwWu p. .'J9), tliat as inaiiy birds brtt-d in the sixty-loiiitli paralld ;i, the t'ortictli ; ami that tlie miiiibur of s|H'(-i(>s wliicli arrive In, the north, iiiuril)' to winter in l*einis)lvania, exceeds tlie aiiio' ul sneli as migrate to tiiat state troin the sonthwards tor tlit: |i poKe ot" breedinjif. Indeed, the intluenee of tlie line and an tmous snnuner ol the northern rearallel between the i thered tribes of Juirope ami JS'orth iXnierica; but we lind that doing so at present would force us still further to transgress lli jirestribtd limits which, in truth, we have already somewhat ceeded. In the meantime, we beg to refer the reader to eleventh table of the present work, which contains a list of ncaih hundred species counnon to the Old NVorld and the fur-couiili Art. \\\.^—Tho LIfi- of Anhhhhop Cranmcr. \\y the Kev. II. John Todd, M. A. 2 vols. 8vo. Loudon. 1831. * /"^ IV'E iiic my liar,' was the phrase in which Charles the I VT was used to call for a volume of history ; and certaiiil. man can attentively examine any important period of our an without jeniarking, that almost every incident admits ot handles, almost every character of two interpretations ; ami il by a juilicious packing of facts, the historian may make hi.s| ture assinne nearly what form he pleases, w ithout any direct vi tion of truth. To the characters which distinguished the period of the n matioii, this remark is particularly applicable. It is with aliiuK of them as with Wolsey in the jday. A Catharine's version ol; is, that he was a man who ranked himself with jirinces ; wlioi .simony fair ; whose own ojiinion was his law ; double in uords and meaning ; never jiitifiil, but when he meant to n mighty in his promises, in his perfoimance mean; unchaMi his morals — pernicious in his example. A CJrithth's xeisicii tiie same Wolsey is, that though certainly of an humble stocL, "was stamped for honour ; that if he was lofty, it w as oiil} those who loved him not ; that if he was iinsatislied in gt* he was most princely in bestowing; that he was a scholar, - the friend and patron of scholars; great in jirosperity, gicntt' misfortune, and that he crowned the glories of iiis life by dp'- k {Inlrodvdi: I ill piiralM a, liit'li iinive h i!i;ils tlie mill,', iinls tor tlu; \, I fine :iiul (m inaikablc, wu ,)uiU! eitunuia II tlio iiei^libi mm hiiii(iix'il I llie bunks ol between tlic i we liiul tlial transgress ili ly soincwiiat le reader t(i I listofneaiiv lie fur-couiitr f the Kev. IL II. 1831. Jliarles tlic I and certaiiili )d of our iiiii t admits ol itioiis ; anil il y make liis ) any direct vi lod of the It is with ahiui- ;'s version ol : iiices ; uluii I ; double in meant to n 'an ; iiiicliaM( iflith's \ersioii humble stocl , it vas oil!} isiied ill gi*: s a scholai'i- perity, grtiiki s life by il)iii?