P R E F A 
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v 
which by him are defcribed in feparate 
articles, as Birds fpecificalJy diflindt from 
each other ; by which means I apprehend 
he hath greatly multiplied the fpecies of 
Birds. To in fiance only one example out 
of feveral I have obferved in the courfe of 
his work : He has, Vol. IV. P. 549. de- 
fcribed Le Guefpier a Collier de Mada- 
gafcar, which he makes the fame with 
Edwards’s Indian Bee -eater, figured by 
Edwards, Pla. 183.0! his Hiflory of Birds. 
And Vol. IV. P. 552. he has defcribed Le 
Guefpier a Collier de Bengale, which he 
fays is Albin’s Bengal Bee-eater, figured in 
Albin’s Hiflory of Birds, Vol. III. Pla. 30. 
Now, had Mr. Briffon attended precifely 
to his fubjed, he mufl have feen that the 
two Birds above-defcribed by him as two 
diflind fpecies of Birds, were one and the 
fame, and fhould have been comprifed in 
one article ; for both Albin and Edwards 
have given the Gentleman’s name in whofe 
colledion it was preferved in London > and 
it is plainly difcoverable from thence, that 
their defcriptions and figures were taken 
from the fame individual Bird. Mr. Briffon 
has now finifhed his Ornithology, which 
makes fix thick Volumes in Quarto, with 
a great number of copper - plates, con- 
taining the figures of a great number of 
new Birds, altogether unknown to me. 
They are engraved with great labour and 
neatnefs ; but molt of them have a fliff 
air, as if drawn from dried or fluffed Birds : 
but in a work of this nature it is excufe- 
able ; for it cannot be fuppofed the hired 
operators had opportunity to fee and fludy 
the fhapes and attitudes of the fubje< 5 ts 
whilfl living. Mr. Brifion has confulted 
all the authors, whether Natural Hiflorians 
or Voyagers, who have wrote any thing 
on Birds, and has colleded the names given 
them by all the authors, in all languages : 
and I believe his Synonyma are fuller and 
re extenfive than they are in any former 
auteurs , et dont il fait des articles fepare's , 
comme fi les fujets en appartenoient eff ective - 
merit des efpeces diftindles ; ce qui me paroit 
etre caufe quit a multiplies les efpeces fans 
neceffte . Prenons en un exemple partm 
plufeurs que fai remar que dans le cours de 
fon ouvrage: Dans le VoL IV. a la Page 549. 
il decrit Le Guefpier a Collier de Mada - 
gqfcar , quilfait le meme Oifeau que Le Gue- 
fpier des Indes d' Edwards, figure a la Plane he 
183. de fon Hijloire des Oifeaux ; et au 
Vol. IV. a la Page 552. il decrit Le Gue- 
fpier a Collier de Bengale, fgure dans /’ Hif- 
toire des Oifeaux d' Albin, au Vol. III. et 
a la Plane he 30. Or, f Mr. Briffon avoit 
apporte plus d' attention au fujet, il auroit 
vu que ces deux Oifeaux, quil decrit comme 
ctant de deux efpeces diftintles, netoit quun > 
et devoient avoir ete compris fous un feu l et 
meme article ; car tant Albin qu Edwards 
ont donne le nom du Gentilhomme qui gar- 
doit cet Oifeau dans fon cabinet d Londres ; 
et il paroit evidemment de Id, que leurs 
defcriptions ont ete faites d'apres le meme 
Oifeau numerique. Mr. Briffon vient d’a- 
chever fon Ornithologie , qui fait un in 
Quarto de fx Pomes, avec un grand nombre 
de planches de cuivre, qui contiennent beau- 
coup d' Oifeaux qui me font entierement in - 
connus. Ils font graves avec un grand join 
et une propreti agreable ; mais la plupart 
des figures ont un air gene, comme Ji les 
dejffeins en avoient ete tires des Oifeaux def- 
feches et b our res .* ce qui pourtant on doit 
pardonner dans un ouvrage de cette nature ; 
car il nefl pas croyable, que des operateurs 
d gages eiffent les occafions de voir et d'etu- 
dier les attitudes des fujets vivans. Mr. 
Brifion a confultes tons les auteurs, foit de 
1 ' Hijloire Naturelle foit ceux qui ont ecrits 
des Voyages, et a raff'embles tous les nems 
des fujets decrits par ces auteurs dans toutes 
les langues dans lej'quelles leurs ouvrages font 
ecrits : de forte que je crois qu on trouvera 
dans fon ouvrage un affemblage des Sino- 
b 
