McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Black Chested Jay
Item
1 watercolour painting ; 56 x 39 cm + 1 leaf
Peter Paillou was born in London into a Huguenot family and was recognised in his own time as an eminent ‘bird painter’. In 1744 he began to paint for Taylor White and worked for him for almost thirty years, painting chiefly birds and mammals. He painted as well for Robert More, Joseph Banks, and for the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. Many of his paintings of birds were used as the basis for book illustrations, often engraved by his colleague and fellow Huguenot, Peter Mazell. Paillou was elected to the Society of Artists and in 1763 he exhibited ‘A Piece of Birds, in Watercolours; the Hen of the Wood and Cock of the Red Game’. In 1778, to considerable approval, he also showed a picture of ‘A Horned Owl from Peru’, completely made from feathers.
Drawing of a pair of possible Black Chested Jay from 18th century specimens. Attributed to Peter Paillou.
Manuscript note on back of drawing: Lanius christatus purpureus from the Grenadas
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Aves Picae Corvus
Corvus granadensis
C. capite antice pectoreque nigris, dorso fusco, alis
violaceis, cauda subtus apiceque alba.
Magnitudo Corvi glandarii. Caput antice nigrum
postice cinereum macula caerulescente albida ad
basin mandibulae inferioris. Rostrum nigricans,
rectum sed absque ullo denticulo prope apicem, alias
Laniis admodum similis. Gula & Pectus nigra,
pennis infimis apice albidis. Collum supra ci-
nereum eodem colore ac occiput. Abdomen
pallidum ut & Genua. Dorsum fuscum. Alae
violaceae,
Cauda longitudine corporis, supra nigro-violacea,
subtus apiceque alba: rectricibus duodecim sub-
aequalibus: lateralibus paulo brevioribus.
Obs: Erigit pennas anticas cinereas in
occipite.
Habitat in Insulis Granadis.
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Aves Picae Corvus
Corvus granadensis
C. with a black front of the head and black breast, tawny back, violet wings, and a tail that is white underneath and at the tip.
It is the size of the Corvi glandarii. The head is black at the front and ash-coloured at the back, with a bluish-white patch
near the base of the lower mandible. The beak is black
and straight but without any teeth near the tip, it is very similar
to other Laniis [butcher birds]. The throat and breast are black,
with the lowest feathers being white at the tip. The top of the
neck is the same ash-colour as the hindhead. The abdomen is
pale, as are the knees. The back is tawny. The wings are
violet, the tail is as long as the body, it is violet-black on top,
and white underneath and at the tip; there are twelve
somewhat even flight feathers on the tail: those on the sides
are a little shorter.
Obs[ervation]: It raises the ash-coloured feathers that are
towards the front of the hindhead.
It lives in the Grenadine Islands.