VI 
PREFACE. 
night and storms approaches, to migrate to those regions where 
tlieir wants may continue to be supplied ; and where it seems to be 
a wise provision of the bountiful Creator, they themselves may con- 
tribute to the sustenance and comfort of a portion of the human 
race. But to such an enterprise Nature has opposed formidable 
barriers, such as it appears she does not intend that we shall sur- 
mount ; thereby intimating to us that she fears to indulge a curi- 
osity whicli might ultimately prove subversive of her general plan, 
by subjecting to the insatiable dominion of a few, what was kindly 
intended for the benefit of all. 
The publication of the eighth volume has been attended with 
increased expense, as the nature of the figures, and the crowded 
manner in which the author found himself necessitated to intro- 
duce them, in order that nine volumes should comprise the whole 
of our ornithology, have compelled the artists to devote more time 
to the faithful discharge of their trust. How well they have suc- 
ceeded in doing justice to their subjects, it is not necessary for us 
to declare, as the public, in matters of taste, indulge a right of 
judging for themselves. But it is proper to state that the present 
volume was a favorite with its author, and he had formed the re- 
solution of devoting to it a more than ordinary share of his per- 
sonal attention; intending thereby to afford to his patrons a proof 
that there was no falling oft from his original elegance ; and to 
the friends of the arts, and lovers of science, an illustration of what 
unwearied industry could accomplish, when associated with zeal 
and talent. Mr. Wilson intended coloring the chief part of the 
plates himself; but this design, which sprang from the most re- 
