‘The black cap’d pigeon’
Date
1790
Creator
Peter Mazell (1721, Irish) , Engraver
Object type
Material
Technique
Dimensions
height (page): 185mm
width (page): 245mm
height (print): 155mm
width (print): 195mm
width (page): 245mm
height (print): 155mm
width (print): 195mm
Subject
Biology
> Zoology
> Ornithology
Biology
> Natural history
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Colonialism
> Zoology
> Ornithology
Biology
> Natural history
Politics & Government
> Political doctrines
> Colonialism
Content object
Description
Ornithological study of an unknown species of bird, possibly a common emerald dove, Chalcophaps indica, referred to here as Columba melanocephala. It appears to be dead, lying on top of a block. The main body is a deep green, the neck and head pale with a black beak and cap.
Inscribed below: ‘P Mazell Sculp. THE BLACK CAP’D PIGEON’
Written in the associated text: ‘It was found on the ground in the isle of Java, having dropped down dead in one of those hot days that are known only in the torrid zone, when the fowls of the air often perish, unable to respire, when lions, leopards, and wolves, immerge themselves up to their nostrils in the water, to preserve themselves from the scorching sun’.
c
Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), British naturalist, traveller, and writer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1767. Best known for his published accounts of tours throughout the British Isles. He never travelled outside of Europe and his account of Indian Zoology was gleamed from drawings brought back by Joan Gideon Loten (1710-1789), a servant in the colonies of the Dutch East India Company and 29th Governor of Sri Lanka, then Ceylon.
Inscribed below: ‘P Mazell Sculp. THE BLACK CAP’D PIGEON’
Written in the associated text: ‘It was found on the ground in the isle of Java, having dropped down dead in one of those hot days that are known only in the torrid zone, when the fowls of the air often perish, unable to respire, when lions, leopards, and wolves, immerge themselves up to their nostrils in the water, to preserve themselves from the scorching sun’.
c
Thomas Pennant (1726–1798), British naturalist, traveller, and writer, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1767. Best known for his published accounts of tours throughout the British Isles. He never travelled outside of Europe and his account of Indian Zoology was gleamed from drawings brought back by Joan Gideon Loten (1710-1789), a servant in the colonies of the Dutch East India Company and 29th Governor of Sri Lanka, then Ceylon.
Related fellows
Thomas Pennant (1726 - 1798, Welsh) , Naturalist
Joan Gideon Loten (1710 - 1789) , Colonial administrator
Joan Gideon Loten (1710 - 1789) , Colonial administrator
Associated place