Notes on American birds John Abbot & William Swainson, c. 1810-1830 ABBOT, John (1751-c.1840). Autograph manuscript, n.p., [c. 1790s?]. Four pages, bifolium, 191 x 150mm. (Light browning at margins and along folds.) With additional notes in the hand of William SWAINSON (1795-1855). John Abbot and William Swainson collaborate on ornithological descriptions. The London-born Abbot arrived in America on the eve of the Revolution and fought with the Continental Army before he became a successful planter in Georgia. Although he started out his scientific career as an entomologist, in the early 1790s he expanded his studies into ornithology. The first three pages contain brief descriptions of various flycatchers, warblers, the hummingbird, the "Georgia Wren", the "White Heron", and the "White Ibis" as well as the "Wood Ibis". Abbot finishes on page four with the "Hooded Merganser" followed by notes in the hand of William Swainson who adds notes on the "Hawk". Although Abbot and Swainson never met personally, they corresponded regularly. The Linnaen Society of London holds many of their extant letters. See Marcus B. Simpson, Jr., "The Artist-Naturalist John Abbot (1751-ca.1840): Contributions to the Ornithology of the Southeastern United States," The North Carolina Historical Review, Vol. 61, No. 3 (July 1984), pp. 347-390.