McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Bob-White
Northern Bobwhite
Colinus virginianus
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 Northern Bobwhites from 18th century specimens [modern geographical distribution: the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean.] Attributed to Peter Paillou.
Manuscript note on front of drawing: Bob-White (Colinus virginianus)
Scientific name: Colinus virginianus
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Virginianus.
Tetrao. Pedibus nudis, fascia
nigra supra et infra Occulos,
linea verticali fulva. L.S.N. p.161
Habitat in America
The Virginian Partridge
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Virginianus
Tetrao, with bare feet, a black
band above and below the eyes,
and a reddish-yellow line on top of the head. L.S.N. p.161
It lives in America.
The Virginian Partridge