Object Status:
Extant
Accession Date:
31 August 1795
Primary Source Reference:
New-York Gazette, 31 August 1795.
Additional Source Text:
A notice in the New-York Gazette on 31 August 1795 announced Charles Willson Peale's (1741-1827) acquisition of "A pair of Cuba Partridges, alive. Presented by Dr. Ramsey, of South Carolina."
Peale wrote, in his 30th Lecture (ca. 1799): "No. 1181. Blue headed Turtle dove. Summit of the head blue, the occiput, or hind head, black; a line of white passes under the eye, towards the back of the neck; throat black spotted with white; the general plumage are deep brown, somewhat lighter on the breast. Columba cyanocephala Linn. La tourterelle de la Jamaique Buff. pl. enl. 174. This bird inhabits Jamaica and the warmer parts of South America. I have endeavored to keep them [alive] here, but our winters are too severe for them." (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, coll. 40)
Peale wrote, in "A Walk Through the Philad[elphi]a Museum" (1805–1806): "Blue headed Turtle (C. cyanocephala) inhabits Jamaca and the warmer parts of south America." (Historical Society of Pennsylvania, coll. 0481)
Notes:
Endemic to Cuba, this endangered species is the sole representative of its (monotypic) genus. There have been multiple failed attempts to introduce the species to Jamaica, where it is considered to be non-native.
Specimen Type:
Live (later taxidermied)
Current Common Name:
Blue-headed Quail-Dove
Current Scientific Name
Columbidae | Starnoenas cyanocephala
