478 



CONCLUDING REMARKS. 



as those of Mr Moule and Mr Stevenson, have been al- 

 ways freely opened to me. Mr Bushnan, Dumfries, sent 

 me his whole collection of hawks and owls, including 

 several very rare species. To all these individuals, 

 therefore, I am in this manner indebted for a great 

 part of my observations. Those supplied by Dr Neill, 

 Mr Yarrell, Mr Wilson, and Mr Brand, I have already 

 acknowledged in the proper places. But, above all, I am 

 indebted to Mr Audubon, the celebrated American or- 

 nithologist, for the great interest which he has recently 

 taken in my pursuits, for many most remarkable indi- 

 cations of his good-will towards me, for his valuable 

 advice on many occasions, for the information aiford- 

 ed in the course of numerous conversations, and on 

 the present occasion more especially for presenting to 

 me a beautiful live specimen of the Eagle Owl, pro- 

 cured at great expense, expressly for the purpose of 

 enabling me to satisfy myself as to its form and struc- 

 ture, and to add its portrait to my now extensive col- 

 lection of drawings. Although the full description of 

 the organs of this interesting bird has not been given 

 in this work, I trust my generous friend will ere long 

 have an opportunity of inspecting it along with figures, 

 on pages of more suitable extent than the present. 



I cannot help thinking that the period has nearly 

 come to a close, when ornithology was confined to mere 

 notices of birds, descriptions of skins, and the construc- 

 tion of fanciful systems. A better era is dawning, 

 when the characters of birds, and the grouping of spe- 

 cies, will be founded upon internal structure and ha- 

 bits, upon the modifications presented by organs and 



