228 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 



Among the originals of Audubon's Birds of America 

 in possession of the Historical Society of New York, 

 there is an early drawing of a Warbler which bears in 

 pencil, in the naturalist's hand, the following note: "This 

 bird was copied by Mr. Willson at Louisville." 21 The 

 misspelling of Wilson's name, which was common with 

 Audubon as late as 1820, would indicate that the note 

 was not added after that time, but if Wilson copied this 

 drawing, there is no evidence that he ever used it. 



Ord made another charge in which Audubon does not 

 appear to such good advantage; though it refers to a 

 later day, it is best to consider it now. This critic 

 thought that a complaint of misappropriation came with 

 ill grace from one who had been guilty of it himself, 

 and maintained that Audubon had copied Wilson's fig- 

 ures of the female Red-wing Blackbird (The Birds of 

 America, Plate LXVII), and had also stolen his draw- 

 ing of the Mississippi Kite (Plate CXVII). Ord was 

 probably mistaken in regard to the blackbird, but with- 

 out a doubt the lower bird in the Kite plate was taken 

 from Wilson (American Ornithology, Plate 25) , though 

 the copyist has reversed the outlines, left out one of the 

 toes, added minor details, and misnamed the sex, which 

 in the Wilson original represents a male. Without a 

 doubt also the odium in this case must fall upon Audu- 

 bon, but we are not at all certain that he was directly 

 responsible for the theft. Audubon's plate of this spe- 

 cies, which is finished in elaborate detail, was probably 

 published towards the close of 1831, when he was in 

 America. He furnished his engraver, we believe, with 



21 What appear to be the original legends, written on this drawing in 

 ink, are as follows: "Chute de 1'Ohio. July 1, 1808. No. 31. J. A. Que 

 j'avais figure [ ?] 12 pennes a la queue." Above were later added, also 

 in ink, the names, "sylvia Trochilus delicata; Sylvia delicata, Aud." 



