Halley, courtesy of the ANSP Ornithology Department. This name is currently in use for one of the American subspecies of Northern Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis atricapillus (Wilson).ĭigital photograph of ANSP 1208, holotype of Accipiter gentilis atricapillus (Wilson, 1812). Then, in November 2020, I rediscovered Wilson’s holotype of Falco atricapillus Wilson 1812, the fourth provenanced specimen from Wilson’s collection to my knowledge. niger type in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology (download here). In 2020, I published a short paper about the rediscovery of the F. First, in 2018, I found Wilson’s syntype of Falco niger (ANSP 1157), which was overlooked in the ANSP collection, and a note penciled by John Cassin (1813–69), former ANSP curator, confirming its provenance. I rediscovered the other two specimens during my research. ![]() When I started studying the history of American ornithology (c.2010), only the first two of these specimens were known (ANSP 20). (Some of the species later turned out to be already described, so no longer bear Wilson’s names.) Today, the specimens are preserved in the bird collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA). Notice a pattern? All of these study skins were type specimens of new hawk species, described by Wilson in American Ornithology. 52 (= Accipiter gentilis atricapillus Wilson, 1812) ANSP 1208, holotype of the American Goshawk Falco atricapillus Wilson, 1812b, Pl.ANSP 1157, syntype of Rough-legged Hawk Falco niger Wilson, 1812b, Pl. ![]() ANSP 1551, holotype of Broad-winged Hawk Falco pennsylvanicus Wilson, 1812b, Pl.ANSP 2032, holotype of Mississippi Kite Ictinia mississippiensis (Wilson, 1811, Pl.Only four of Wilson’s specimens are known today, with data confirming their provenance: (Reprinted from Halley, 2020)įor the uninitiated, Wilson was a Scottish-born poet/ornithologist who immigrated to the USA in 1796, and became famous for authoring and co-publishing the first books dedicated to describing American birds: American Ornithology, 9 vols (1808–14). Reproduced courtesy of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University Archives, collection 457. Portrait of “Alexander Wilson, author of the American Ornithology, Native of Paisley Scotland, died 1813 aged 45,” drawn and engraved by John James Barralet (1747–1815) within 2 years of the ornithologist’s death.
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