146 Life of Audubon. 



" The Prospectus. 



"To those who have not seen any portion of the 

 author's collection of original drawings, it may be proper 

 to state, that their superiority consists in the accuracy as 

 to proportion and outline, and the variety and truth of the 

 attitudes and positions of the figures, resulting from the 

 peculiar means discovered and employed by the author, 

 and his attentive examination of the objects portrayed 

 during a long series of years. The author has not con- 

 tented himself, as others have done, with single profile 

 views, but in very many instances has grouped his fig- 

 ures so as to represent the originals at their natural avoca- 

 tions, and has placed them on branches of trees, decorated 

 with foliage, blossoms, and fruits, or amidst plants of 

 numerous species. Some are seen pursuing their prey 

 through the air, searching for food amongst the leaves and 

 herbage, sitting in their nests, or feeding their young; 

 whilst others, of a different nature, swim, wade, or glide 

 in or over their allotted element. 



" The insects, reptiles, and fishes that form the food of 

 these birds have now and then been introduced into the 

 drawings. In every instance where a difference of 

 plumage exists between the sexes, both the male and the 

 female have been represented ; and the extraordinary 

 changes which some species undergo in their progress 

 from youth to maturity have been depicted. The plants 

 are all copied from nature, and, as many of the originals 

 are remarkable for their beauty, their usefulness, or their 

 rarity, the botanist cannot fail to look upon them with de- 

 light. 



" The particulars of the plan of the work may be re- 

 duced to the following heads : 



" I. The size of the work is double elephant folio, 

 the paper being of the finest quality. 



