278 Rhoads, Abbot's Birds of Georgia. [july 



moss, pebbles, frozen flowers, Dutch tulips, etc. On the margins, — 

 sky, if you think so, — sports a curious fly or beetle, a gorgeous moth 

 or even a bug or spider, in brilliant contrast to the sombre sparrow 

 or blackbird that forms the centerpiece. 



On the other hand, to compare Abbot's work to that of Audubon 

 would be as far from the mark as to perpetuate the fallacy of 

 making such comparisons between Audubon and Wilson. Of the 

 three, Audubon alone was the real bird artist, revealing life, action, 

 color, shade and landscape often in wondrous combination. As 

 such, he was the greatest, and for many years, the only pioneer in 

 artistic and natural illustration of faunal ornithology. 



None of Abbot's birds in the De Renne portfolio show action, 

 other than perfunctory woodpecking by a woodpecker, the eyeing 

 of a green worm by the "Toupet Tit," the half opened wings of 

 the "Red-winged Oriole" to display his epaulets, the inspection of 

 a curious red fish by the Kingfisher, whose quizzical look is quite 

 amusing, but not more so than that of the "Tyrant Shrike" in the 

 garb of a Kingbird leaning over to inspect a green grasshopper 

 seated upon the ground! Abbot had a curious and unaccountable 

 trick of placing the pupils of his bird's eyes in a forward position. 

 On this account, most of them may be said to be squinting or cross- 

 eyed when there is no occasion for it. Not one in five has the 

 pupil centered as is normally the case in nature. The plate of two 

 Common Crossbills has the eyes centered but in other respects as 

 to markings, pose, etc., it is the only one which does not seem to 

 belong to the collection. Such a rare bird is this, in the lowlands of 

 Georgia, and so crude is the sketch, it seems likely he copied the 

 drawing from some other source than the birds themselves. The 

 fine mottling and vermiculation of the plumages of the Chick-wills- 

 widow and the Night Hawk show not only great fidelity to nature 

 but also most skilful handling of brush and colors. Perhaps the 

 most artistic picture is that of a pair of Gnatcatchers, but those of 

 the Goldfinches, the Redstarts and the Kinglets are nearly as good. 

 His "Bay winged Bunting" and "Virginian Goatsucker" are here 

 reproduced as two of the best examples of Abbot's art. 



In conclusion, let me emphasize the conviction, that, not only in 

 England, to which country Abbot returned and there ended his 

 days at an advanced age, but also in the United States, there rest 



