BIRDS OF 



of the Philadelphia Academy, a series of critical articles on Wilson's 

 American Ornithology. These referred chiefly to the nomenclature, 

 a subject to which Wilson paid but little attention. During the ten 

 years succeeding the above date, several editions of Wilson's work 

 appeared, each containing the changes in the nomenclature sug- 

 gested by Bonaparte, and having descriptions of such new species 

 as had from time to time been brought to light. Bonaparte's 

 principal work was his "American Ornithology" published in 1833, 

 in which the number of species described was 366. In 1838 he 

 published in London his "Geographical and. Comparative List of 

 the Birds of Europe and North America," in which the number of 

 species was farther raised to 471. The Fauna Boreali Americana 

 was now in course of publication. The volume descriptive of the 

 birds, which appeared in 1831, not only described many hitherto 

 unknown species, but contained a vast amount of valuable informa- 

 tion regarding the nests, eggs, and habits of the birds in their 

 northern homes, about which little or nothing had hitherto been 

 known. 



In the mean-time John James Audubon, a man of high culture, 

 ample means, and a large amount of material to start with, was busy 

 preparing his great work, the first volume of which appeared in 

 1827, but was not completed until 1839. The number of birds 

 described was 506, nearly every species being shown in a colored 

 illustration. 



The attention of Ornithologists was now turned to the west, 

 and a most valuable contribution was made to the subject by Mr. 

 John Cassin, who published in 1856 a beautiful book entitled 

 " Illustration of the Birds of California," illustrated with fifty 

 colored plates. 



In 1858 appeared the celebrated 9th volume of " Pacific Rail- 

 road Reports," which overturned the whule previous form of the 

 subject. The number of specimens sent in by the different survey- 

 ing parties was very great, and nearly all different species from those 

 already known in the east. These, with the reports referring to 

 them, were placed in the hands of Professor Baird, who, with the 

 assistance of Messrs. Cassin and Geo. N. Lawrence, revised the 

 whole subject, and introducing for the sake of comparison the 

 eastern species already known, made the volume a complete expos- 



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