McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
King Bird of Paradise
King Bird-of-Paradise
Cicinnurus regius
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 King Bird-of-Paradise from a 18th century specimen [modern geographical distribution: New Guinea and some small neighboring islands.] Attributed to Peter Paillou.
Manuscript note on front of drawing: King Bird of Paradise (Cicinnurus regius)
Manuscript note on back of drawing: Paradisea Regina.2. Linaei. A bird of Paradise from the East Indies
Scientific name: Cicinnurus regius
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf:
Regia
2 P. cirrhis [cirris] caudalibus filiformibus apice
lunato-pennaceis. L.S.N. p.110
The King of the Birds of
Paradise
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf:
Regia
2 P. with threadlike tail wires, with crescent-shaped feathers at the tip. L.S.N. p.110
The King of the Birds of
Paradise