The octavo edition of Audubon's _Birds_ began to appear, in parts, late in 1839, and was in press four years. It was illustrated with 500 lithographic plates, which were reduced by John Woodhouse Audubon from his father's old or new originals, with such changes as the breaking up of composite plates and other considerations rendered necessary. Many new flowers and trees made their appearance in these plates, and seventeen new birds were added to the last volume; the text was also greatly improved by the process of addition and subtraction, as well as by the correction of many errors which it was then possible to effect: as twelve species were noticed without figures, this brought the total number of American birds finally recognized by Audubon to 507.[175] The first considerable list of American birds with any pretense to accuracy appeared in _Notes on Virginia_, published in 1782, by Thomas Jefferson, who then named 109 species peculiar to the United States; William Bartram, in 1791, gave 191; Alexander Wilson, 278; Wilson and Ord, in 1808-14, 320, and Charles Bonaparte, in 1825-33, is said to have extended the number to 382. The present number of North American birds, omitting sub-species, admitted to the third revised edition of the "Check-List," prepared by a Committee of the American Ornithologists' Union and published in New York in 1910, is 768. To this is added a hypothetical list of 26 names, the validity of which is still in doubt; these embrace Townsend's Bunting—_Spiza townsendi_ (Audubon); Carbonated Warbler—_Dendroica carbonata_ (Audubon), Blue Mountain Warbler—_Dendroica montana_ (Wilson), known only in the works of Wilson and Audubon; the mysterious Small-headed "Flycatcher," or Warbler—_Musicapa minuta_ (Wilson) or _Wilsonia_ (?) _microcephala_ (Ridgway), an account of which is given in Chapter XIV and which is known only in Wilson's and Audubon's works; and Cuvier's Regulus—_Regulus cuvieri_ (Audubon), which has never been seen beyond the covers of _The Birds of America_, and its descriptive text: "I shot _this_ bird," said Audubon, "on my father-in-law's plantation of Fatland Ford, on the Skuylkill River in Pennsylvania, on the 8th June 1812, while on a visit to my honoured relative Mr. William Bakewell.... I have not seen another since." Audubon was soon canvassing the principal cities for this work, with what success is shown by the following letter[176] to his family: _Audubon to his Family_ BALTIMORE, _Feb. 21. 1840_. 11 o'clock at night. MY DEAR FRIENDS