A History of British Birds, Volume II (Water Birds)

1804

[From Thomas Bewick My Life, edited by Iain Bain, p. 142-3 (spelling and punctuation as given in the original manuscript)]

'As soon as each bird was finished on the wood, I set about describing it from my specimen - and at the same time consulted every authority I could meet with to know what had been said, and this together with what I knew from my own knowledge, were then compared, and in this way, I finished, as truely as I could, the second volume of the History of British Birds. I also examined the first volume with a view to correct its errors, and also to add many new figures and descriptions of them to it. Although all this of thus taking the whole upon me, could not be done, but by close and indeed severe confinement and application, yet I was supported under these by the extreme pleasure I felt in depicturing and describing these beautiful and very interesting aerial wanderers of the British Isles. I also hoped that my labours might perhaps have the effect of inveigling my youthfull countrymen, as far as I could, to be smitten with the charms which this branch - and indeed every other department of natural history imparts, and these endless pleasures they afford to all who wish to trace nature up to Nature's God. [...]

While I was engaged with the figures of the Water Birds and the vignettes, and writing the history, this business was greatly retarded by my being obliged often to lay that work aside and to do various other jobs in the wood engraving, and also the work of the shop for my customers in the town, but particularly, writing engraving...

The second volume of British Birds was devoted to Water Birds and appeared in 1804. It contained 101 figures in the first edition, with a larger number of vignettes, of which some samples are to be seen on the Vignettes page. Supplementary figures were added to later editions.

The Stork, p. 45.

The Curlew, p. 64.

The Coot, p. 129.

The Grebe, p. 137.

The Puffin, p. 197.

The Mute Swan, p. 252.