OF AUDUBON. 



21 



motions and habits, as much as the case ad- 

 mitted, and were regularly drawn on or near 

 the spot where I procured them. The positions 

 may, perhaps, in some instances, appear outre 

 but such supposed exaggerations can afTord 

 subject of criticism only to persons unacquainted 

 with the feathered tribes ; for, believe me, no- 

 thing can be more transient or varied than the 

 attitudes or positions of birds. The Heron, 

 when warming himself in the sun, will some- 

 times drop its wings several inches, as if they 

 were dislocated. The Swan may often be seen 

 floating, with one foot extended from the body; 

 and some Pigeons, you well know, turn quite 

 over when playing in the air. The flowers, 

 plants, or portions of trees which are attached 

 to the principal objects, have been chosen from 

 amongst those in the vicinity of which the 

 birds were found, and are not, as some persons 

 thought, the tree§ or plants upon which they 

 always feed or perch. 



" An accident which happened to two hundred 

 of my original drawings, nearly put a stop to 

 my researches in ornithology. 1 shall relate it, 

 merely to shew you how far enthusiasm — for 

 by no other name can I call the persevering 

 zeal with which I laboured — may enable the 

 observer of Nature to surmount the most dis* 

 heartening obstacles. 1 left the village of 



