Object Status:
Extant
Accession Date:
By 1799
Primary Source Reference:
Charles Willson Peale, Lecture on Natural History 20. (ca. 1799). Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, coll. 40. / https://ansp.org/research/library/archives/0000-0099/coll0040/
Additional Source Text:
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) wrote, in his 20th Lecture (ca. 1799): "429. Green throated Humming Bird. A streak of bright emerald-greenis traced on the throat of this bird, which falls, spreading on the fore-side of the neck; there is a black spot on the breast; the sides of the throat and neck are rufous, mixed with white; the under part of the body is pure white; the upper side of the body, and of the tail, dull gold-green; the side quills of the tail are russet tipped with white; the middle quills green. Wing quills dark. Trochilus maculatus Linn. Green throated Humming bird Latham No. 14 Colibri a gorge verte, de Cayenne Buff. Pl. enl. 671. f1. Inhabits Cayenne. [No.] 430. Female of the preceding?" (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, coll. 40)
Notes:
In 1793, Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825) travelled to Cayenne, French Guiana, to collect specimens for Peale's Museum. However, to the editor's (MRH) knowledge, there is no detailed inventory of the specimens he brought back, and there are many examples of specimens from northern South America that were donated by other people. For more discussion, see Lillian B. Miller, 1993, ""Father and Son: The Relationship of Charles Willson Peale and Raphaelle Peale"", The American Art Journal 25: 4-161. / https://doi.org/10.2307/1594599 Peale's description is inadequate to identify the species.
Specimen Type:
Dead/preserved
Current Common Name:
Unidentified hummingbird
Current Scientific Name
Trochilidae | Unidentified
