Object Status:
Extant
Accession Date:
By 1799
Primary Source Reference:
Charles Willson Peale, Lecture on Natural History 31. (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 31st Lecture (ca. 1799): "No. 1302. European Black bird. Plumage intirely black and the bill & Eye lids yellow. Turdus Merula Linn. Merle Buff. pl. enl. 555 female. Black bird British Zool. [lab] 47. No. 1303. Female is not so black, but of sooty colour with spotes on the throat & breast. The bill much darker. Its song is also different from the male, all these circumstances combined have caused it to be mistaken for another species. They are very common in Europe. they are very common in Europe." (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, coll. 40)
Peale wrote, in "A Walk Through the Philad[elphi]a Museum" (1805–1806): "No. [blank] European Black bird (T. Merula) easily distinguished from ours by its yellow bill. The female is less bright in colour — the bill much darker. Its song is also different from the male these differences have caused them to be taken for different species — very common in Europe." (Historical Society of Pennsylvania, coll. 0481)
Specimen Type:
Dead/preserved
Current Common Name:
European Blackbird
Current Scientific Name
Turdidae | Turdus merula
