THE OOLOGIST 



29 



appreciative ornithologists are not friendly 

 toward bird illustrations of any kind. 



Audubon was the first man wlio combined 

 the study of birds with the use of the brush, 

 in sucli a manner as to arouse the consid- 

 eration of scientist and artist alike, and no 

 one naturalist has since succeeded in accru- 

 ing so valuable a mass of ornithological 

 material as the author of the "•Birds of 

 America." His great work can never call 

 out the appreciation that it merits, for the 

 public do not know how to estimate the 

 circumstances under which it was begun 

 and completed. Many persons look upon 

 the illustrations with which some of the 

 bird books of to-day are adorned, and say, 

 " How beautiful ! " and the author or en- 

 graver gets credit for that which his own 

 originality was inadequate to design ; for, 

 be it known that Audubon's delightful draw- 

 ings have been copied far and wide, and 

 printed without the slightest mention of the 

 great naturalist, to whom the credit should 

 unhesitatingly be given. This plagiarism 

 of pictures has elicited the just censure of 

 those who are qualified by experience to 

 criticise ornithological publications. The 

 conclusion deduced from all this, is, that 

 ornithologists — at least those of this coun- 

 try — are not original enough to make the 

 pictorial portion of their works a valuable 

 feature ; and these repeated reprints often 

 pardonably suggest a corresponding want 

 of originality througliout the work. 



The object of bird delineations is, or 

 should be, to more fully explain and illus- 

 trate what description is unable to explicit- 

 ly convey, and it is an error to believe that 

 the colors, alone, are adequate to attain 

 this end. Aside from the artistic qualities 

 sacrificed by allowing this error to remain 

 uncorrected, much ot the characteristic of 

 the species depicted, may be instantly bro't 

 out by giving it the aspect and surround- 

 ings of nature. To make this clear, hit 

 us take up a bird book in which all the birds 

 are shown to be sitting in a stiff", upright 

 position, regardless of natural posture. We 

 find Woodpeckers, Ducks, Owls, Plovers 

 and Swallows all staudin"; on a horizontal 



I surface, and facing straight to the right or 



I to the left. We might read that Wood- 

 peckers climb trees, that Ducks swim in 

 the water and that Swallows catch insects 

 in the air, but we are impressed by the pic- 

 tures that they mostly stand still, without 

 shifting position at all. Perhaps we might 

 know better, but those who, in youth, read 

 more or less about birds, and whose ideas 

 quickly conform to pictures, begin to con- 



I sider the study of birds an awkward and 

 dry amusement. To add to the impressive- 

 ness of the illustrations, many of the spe- 

 cies possessing some noticeable peculiarity, 



: have it so exaggerated as to convey a false 

 notion not readily eradicated. 



The remedy is to imitate nature. If a 

 Woodpecker's most conspicuous habit is to 

 climb trees, a drawing of the bird earnest- 

 ly at work upon a decayed trunk will have 

 its due significance. Life and activity in a 

 bird picture go far toward the end which 

 they are intended to accomplish. Expres- 

 sion of the whole body, lights and shadows, 

 the natural surroundings in which a bird 

 lives, insects, plants, trees, water, rocks, 

 lend beauty to a bird delineation, which 

 artist-naturalists ever look for and admire 

 in connection with the accui'ate portrayal 

 of tlie species. The world looks for fresh 

 subjects, and it cannot be expected to ad- 

 mire bird pictures which have been repro- 

 duced from antiquated drawings ; a book 

 of new facts is prf)perly illustrated with 

 drawings from nature, and ornithologists 

 will never cease to appreciate these, if they 

 keep up with the march of an increasing 

 excellence. 



Snow Birds, Kinglets, Pine Finches, 

 Red-polls and other boreal species appeared 

 in the Middle States quite early this year. 

 Numbei's of the third mentioned species 

 were observed during the middle of the 

 month. What was the cause of so early a 

 migration ? Has it been impossible for 

 these species to procure food in the north ? 

 We are told that their appearance foretells 

 an abundance of winter birds. 



