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 LX VII), and had also stolen his draw- 
ing of the Mississippi Kite (Plate CX VII). 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 
1 What appear to be the original legends, written on this drawing in 
ink, are as follows: “Chute de Ohio. July 1, 1808. No. 31. J. A. Que 
j’avais figuré [?] 12 pennes a la queue.” Above were later added, also 
in ink, the names, “sylvia Trochilus delicata; Sylvia delicata, Aud.” 
