Si86 RemarJcs on AuchiborCs Birds of Americay 



Plate II. The grace and elegance of the Yellow-billed Cuc- 

 koos gliding amongst the foliage of the papaw-tree in pursuit of 

 insects, are unrivalled, although the execution of this plate is 

 inferior to that of some others. 



Plate LXXXIII. The House- wren is not very nice in se- 

 lecting a place for its nest. A pair of these birds have nestled 

 in an old hat stuck upon a twig. The male, perched on the 

 edge of the hat, is commencing a little ditty, while the female, 

 just arrived with a large spider, is delivering it to one of the 

 young, which are eagerly squeezing themselves through a hole 

 in the crown. 



Plate LXXXVII. Florida Ja?/^.— These beautiful birds, 

 although they have no tale to telJ, form a splendid picture. 

 They are perched on the branches of the persimon, loaded with 

 clusters of fruit. 



In short, the general character of the work may be expressed 

 as follows : — The birds are represented such as nature created 

 them, of their full dimensions, glowing in all the beauty of their 

 unsullied plumage, and presenting the forms, attitudes and 

 motions peculiar to the species. In no case do they appear 

 before us in the stiff and formal attitudes in which we find 

 them in other works, perched upon an unmeaning stump or 

 stone. On the contrary, they are seen in all imaginable posi- 

 tions, pursuing their usual avocations. The foreshortenings and 

 varieties of attitude which induce painters generally to present 

 side views only, seem to have been accounted as nothing out of 

 the ordinary course of drawing ; with so much delicacy, grace 

 and vigour, have the most difficult positions been managed. A 

 peculiar charm is given to these representations, by the circum- 

 stance that the trees, plants, and flowers of the districts in which 

 they occur, are all represented, generally with surprising accu- 

 racy, and always with great taste. The flowing festoons of 

 climbing shrubs and creepers, hung with broad leaves, garlands 

 of flowers, and clustered berries, the lichen-crusted branches of 

 the forest trees, and the decayed stumps on which the wood- 

 peckers seek their food, are in themselves objects of admira- 

 tion. 



It is not enough to say that our author has invented a new 

 style in the representation of natural objects ; for so true are 



