Object Status:
Extant
Accession Date:
By 1799
Primary Source Reference:
Charles Willson Peale, Lecture on Natural History 20. (ca. 1799). Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, coll. 40. / https://ansp.org/research/library/archives/0000-0099/coll0040/
Additional Source Text:
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) wrote, in his 20th Lecture (ca. 1799): "437. Tufted Neck Violet eared Humming bird. This name marks a very singular character, which distinguishes this bird from all the rest. Not only its head is ornamented with a pretty long rufous tuft, but on each side of the neck, below the ears, rise seven or eight unequal feathers; the two longest, being a little short of ½ an Inch, are rufous, and narrow throughout, but the ends a little widened, and tipt with a green dot. The bird erects them reclining them back; while at rest they lie flat on the neck, as also does the beautiful tuft; but they are bristled when it flies, and the bird appears quite round." (Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, coll. 40)
Peale continued: "The throat and the fore, side of the neck are of a rich gold green (if the Eye be held much lower than the object, these brilliant feathers appear entirely brown); the head and all the upper side of the body green, with dazzling reflections of gold and bronze as far as the white bar that corsses the lower part of the body; beyond this, to the end of the tail, is spread a shining gold on a brown ground on the outer webs of the quills, and rufous on the inner ones; the under side of the body is gold green brown; the under tail coverts white. The female has neither the crest nor the ruff as the male; the band on the lower part of the back, and the throat, are both inclined to rufous. The rest of the parts beneath are likewise rufous, with a cast of green; the upper part of the head, and the back, are, like the male, of a gold green. Trochilus auratus Linn. L'oiseau mouche, dit called le Hupecol de Cayenne Buff. pl. enl. 640. f. 3. Tufted necked Humming B. Lath. 55. Inhabits Cayenne." (ANSP Archives, coll. 40)
Peale wrote, in "A Walk Through the Philad[elphi]a Museum" (1805–1806): "Here is the … little tufted neck." (Historical Society of Pennsylvania, coll. 0481)
Notes:
In 1793, Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825) travelled to Cayenne, French Guiana, to collect specimens for Peale's Museum. However, to the editor's (MRH) knowledge, there is no detailed inventory of the specimens he brought back, and there are many examples of specimens from northern South America that were donated by other people. For more discussion about Raphaelle's travels, see Lillian B. Miller, 1993, "Father and Son: The Relationship of Charles Willson Peale and Raphaelle Peale", The American Art Journal 25: 4-161. / https://doi.org/10.2307/1594599
Specimen Type:
Dead/preserved
Current Common Name:
Tufted Coquette
Current Scientific Name
Trochilidae | Lophornis ornatus
