McGill Library
McLennan Library Building3459 rue McTavish
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H3A 0C9
White headed American Parrot
White-fronted Parrot
Amazona albifrons
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 White-fronted parrot from a 18th century specimen [modern geographical distribution: the Neotropics: Costa Rican moist forests, Central American dry and pine-oak forests, and the Yucatan Peninsula.] Attributed to Peter Paillou.
Manuscript note on front of drawing: Leucocephalus Ps. Br. L.S.N.; The White headed American Parrot;
Manuscript note on back of drawing: from the West Indies
Scientific name: Amazona albifrons
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Leuco-cephalus.
26 Ps. Brachyurus Viridis, remigibus
caeruleis, fronte alba, cauda rubra.
habitat in America L.S.N. p.101
The White Headed
Parrot.
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Leuco-cephalus.
26 Ps. Brachyurus Viridis [The white-headed green parrot] with
blue flight feathers on the wings, a white forehead, and red tail.
It lives in America L.S.N. p.101
The White Headed
Parrot.