PR E FA C E .
ment of the “ Birds of Australia;” neither is the kindness of His Highness the Prince of Canino,
Sir Wm. Jardine, Bart., Robert Brown, Professor Owen, H. E. Strickland, W. Yarrell,
T. C. Eyton, J. J. Bennett, D. W. Mitchell, and E. Blyth, Esqs., forgotten by one whom they
have ever been sedulous to oblige. My thanks are also due to the Trustees, to J. E. Gray,
and G. R. Gray, Esqs., of the. British Museum; and to the authorities of the Linnean and
Zoological Societies of London, the Royal Museums of Berlin, Leyden and Paris, and the
Museum at Sydney. I am also considerably indebted tQ my friend W. C. L. Martin, Esq.,
author of many valuable works and papers on natural history, for the readiness with which his
varied, literary attainments and critical acumen have at all times been rendered, whenever
solicited, to enhance the accuracy of my labours.
At the conclusion of my “ Birds of Europe,” I had the pleasing duty of stating that
nearly the whole of the Plates had been lithographed by my amiable wife. Would that I had
the happiness of recording a similar statement with regard to the present work; but such, alas !
is not the case, it having pleased the All-wise Disposer of Events to remove her from this
sublunary world within one short year after our return from Australia, during her sojourn in
which country an immense mass of drawings, both ornithological and botanical, were made by
her inimitable hand and pencil, and which has enabled Mr. H. C. Richter, to whom, after her
lamented death, the execution of the Plates was entrusted, to perform his task in a manner
highly satisfactory to myself, and I trust equally so to the Subscribers. The colouring, as in
the case of the “ Birds of Europe,” and my other works, has been entirely executed by
Mr. Bayfield, to whose unwearied exertions and punctuality I must not fail to bear testimony,
as well as to the minute accuracy with which his labours have been performed. The printing
of the Plates, by Messrs. Hullmandel and Walton, and the letter-press, by Messrs. R. and J. E.
Taylor, has also been equally satisfactory.
And I cannot refrain from speaking in the highest terms of my assistant, Mr. Edwin C.
Prince, who has been with me from the commencement of my various works. I left him in
charge of the whole of my affairs during my absence from England, with a perfect conviction
that he would zealously exert himself for my interest, and the confidence I reposed in him has
been fully realized, not only during my absence, but during the long period of eighteen years.
I t was my most anxious wish that the unique and perfect collection of Australian Birds,
P R E FA C E . *i
forming the originals of the present work, should have found a resting-place in the National
Museum of this1 country, inasmuch as it comprised examples of both sexes of nearly every
known species in various stages of plumage, each carefully labelled with its correct scientific
appellation, the date when and the place where killedj 'the sex ascertained by dissection, and
the colouring of the soft parts; .besideswhich, it comprised the finest specimens I had been
able to procure during the long period of ten years, collected together at an expense of more
than J'SOOO, and at the cost of three valuable lives, namely, that of Mr. Gilbert above referred
to ; that of Mr. Johnson Drummond, who was killed by a native while seeking for specimens
in Western Australia; and th a t of a fine young man, one of the attendants assigned to me
by Sir John Franklin, who was accidentally killed by the explosion of a gun he was removing
from a boat when landing on one of the islands in Bass’s Straits. Regretting that I could
not afford to make a donation of it, I addressed a letter to J. E. Gray, Esq., the chief
Zoological officer of the British Museum, in which, after stating, that the entire collection
amounted to nearly 600 species, 'and upwards oft 1800 specimens, with the full complements of
eggs of more than 300 species, I made the following offer,— “ I believe that in some instances
the Government has lent its aid and support to works of such magnitude as the ‘ Birds of
Australia’ by taking a certain number of copies; were this done in my own case, and not
less than twenty-five copies were taken, I should be most happy to present to the Museum
both the Collections above-mentioned, but should such an arrangement be declined then I beg
to offer them to the Trustees for the sum of i f 1000.” To my own, as well as to the regret of
nearly every scientific man in Europe, my offer was declined by the Trustees. Upon this
circumstance becoming known to Edward Wilson, Esq., of Lydstip House, near Tenby in
Pembrokeshire, that gentleman immediately purchased the entire collection for his brother,
Dr. T. B. Wilson; of Philadelphia in North America, whither it will be shortly removed, and
where it will be at all times available for the purposes of science, and form a portion of
perhaps the most extensive ornithological collection in the world.
In conclusion I would- beg to say, that having brought the “ Birds of Australia to a close,
after devoting nearly ten years to its production, I trust it will be admitted that it has been
terminated in the same spirit with which it was commenced, and that any errors which may be
found will be viewed with leniency, when the extent of the work,- and the difficulty of
procuring and arranging so large a mass of materials, is taken into consideration ; should my
labours, such as they are, merit the approbation of those who have so liberally supported it,