82 INTRODUCTION. 



Illustrations of British Ornithology, by P. J. 

 Selby, were commenced in 1826, and concluded 

 in 1833, a folio of two volumes, with octavo 

 descriptive letter-press. The price and magni- 

 tude of the plates preclude this work from the 

 libraries of most students; but the descriptive 

 part is indispensable, is moderate in price, and 

 contains ample yet condensed descriptions of 

 all our birds, arranged under the natural sys- 

 tem, and placed in the modern genera where 

 such have been considered necessary. The 

 illustrations, amounting to above one hundred, are 

 imbued with the character of the living birds, and 

 without harshness, are executed boldly by the 

 hands of the author himself. None but the pro- 

 fessed workman can have any idea of the labour 

 comprised in these two volumes of illustrations ; 

 and when it is considered that the drawings and 

 engravings of three hundred and twenty-seven 

 species of our British birds have been made and 

 finished of the size of life, with very few excep- 

 tions by one individual, this work will stand alone 

 as a monument of perseverance, while it is equally 

 honourable as a work of science and of art. 



In this enumeration of the works devoted to 

 our favourite science, we have only noticed those 

 which were confined to the subject. There are 

 several works not exclusively treating of the 

 department, which may be consulted with profit. 



