McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 0C9
Lesser spotted Woodpecker [male] & [female]
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Dryobates minor
Chars. Collins Fect. 1736
Item
1 watercolour painting ; 56 x 39 cm + 1 leaf
Charles Collins was an Irish painter, known for his portraits of animals and still-lifes. He achieved success in England painting exotic birds, game, dogs and dead game still-lifes. He was the painter for Robert Furber’s ‘Twelve Months of Fruit’ (1732). In 1736 he published in collaboration with John Lee a set of 12 large engravings, coloured by hand, of British birds in landscape and garden settings, entitled Icones avium cum nominibus anglicis. He then came to the attention of Taylor White, who engaged him to paint birds from his and others’ collections until 1743. Collins died in 1744, when he was described as ‘Bird Painter to the Royal Society.’
Drawing of a pair of male and female Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers from 18th century specimens [modern geographical distribution: Europe (especially Central and Western Europe) and the Volga River system].
Manuscript note on front of drawing: Lesser spotted Woodpecker [male] & [female] (Dryobates minor) Chars. Collins Fect. 1736;
Manuscript note on back of drawing: Picus minor Linaei 12 The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker or Hickwall Picus various minor W. 138
Scientific name: Dryobates minor
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Minor
P. albo nigroque varius vertice rubro,
ano albido. L.S.N. p.114
Habitat in Europa
The Least Spotted Woodpecker
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Minor
P. albo nigroque varius [The small white and black spotted woodpecker] with a red crown, and white posterior. L.S.N. p.114
It lives in Europe
The Least Spotted Woodpecker