Large octavo: 312 pages; 38 plates, with tissue guards, of hand-coloured illustrations of birds in groupings; colour frontispiece and illuminated, second half-title page. Some foxing on the text pages but the plates are lovely and bright and generally clean. Protected with tissue guards. In contemporary black-gilt publisher's boards, with small ex-lib sticker and a pen-written dedication. Vicare IV, 669. First edition and first printing of the frontispiece by Victor Adam, another frontispiece engraved by Rouget after Pauquet, a portrait of Buffon and 38 plates engraved by Beaupré, Colin, Thibault, Gelée , Giroux, Guyard, Migneret, etc. Each of the plates presents two species of birds in their natural environment. All the plates have been carefully colored with watercolor. Very nice copy.