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ADVERTISEMENT. 
The Editor of the second Volume of British BiRDSt 
having novo brought his voork to a conclusion^ hastens to acknowledge 
his obligations to the Public for the favourable reception of his former 
labours ; and to express his thanks to those sportsmen and lovers of 
Natural History ^ who have so liberally contributed to the completion 
of this work. When the History of British Birds was first under • 
taken, the splendid Museum of the late Marmaduke Tunstall, of Wy- 
cliffe. Esq. was obligingly thrown open by his nephew, Francis Sheldon, 
Esq.* with the kindest offer of the use of its abundant stores. Du- 
ring a residence of nearly two months at that little earthly paradise 
— the secure asylum of its feathered visitors, which were suffered by 
the late benevolent owner to pick up their daily pittance unmolested — 
drawings were taken from the stuffed specimens of most of the Bri- 
tish species, and many of these were afterwards traced and engraven 
upon the blocks of wood ; but in the progress of the work, so many 
both dead and living specimens of the birds themselves, ( to which stuff- 
ed subjedts commonly bear only an imperfeEt resemblance ) were fur- 
nished by the Patrons of the work, that the necessity of using several of 
these drawings was superseded by this more near approach to perfeEl 
nature. In addition to these resources, the voluminous folios of the ce- 
lebrated Count de Buff on, containing one thousand and one (Planches 
Enluminees) coloured prints of Birds, ^c. were kindly lent to aid the 
work, by Michael Bryan, of London, Esq.; these, like an index, were 
* Nonv Francis Constable, Esq. of Burton Constable, in Holderness. 
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