THE RABIE PAINTINGS OF HAITIAN BIRDS

Vol. XLVII1
19S0j W•.?MORE,
TheRabie
Paintinqs
ofHaitian
Birds.
481
THE RABI]• PAINTINGS OF HAITIAN 'BIRDS.
BY ALEXANDER
WETMORE.
Plates XIX-XXII.
THE BlackerLibrary of McGill University,throughthe interest
of Dr. CaseyWood,hasrecentlyacquireda seriesof water color
paintingsdepictingthe floraandfaunaof Haiti, madein the latter
part of the eighteenthcenturyby M. de Rabi•, which are of
considerable
interestto ornithologists
because
of their earlyrecord
of a considerable
numberof the interestingbirds of the Haitian
Republic. The drawings
in questionweresentto mefor examina•
tion a shorttimeagothroughthe courtesy
of the firm of Wheldon
and Wesleyof London,to assistin my studiesof historicalrecords
pertainingto Hispaniola. The notesmadeon the birdsare here
publishedat the requestof Dr. Wood who has desiredthat the
ornithologicaldata in this unique and hitherto unknownset of
Americana
be placeddefinitelyon recordwhereit mightbereadily
available to those interested.
The seriesof paintings
whichincludes
fruitsandvegetables
of
variouskinds, insects,fishes,crustaceans,
and mollusks,as well
as birds, is at presentbound in four volumesof which one is
devotedto birds. Accordingto an inscriptionin the front it is
devoted to a "Collection des oiseauxde St. Domingue peints
d'apresnaturepar 1VI•-.
de Rabi•, mar•chal de camp,ing•nieuren
chefdela partie du nord de St. Domingne,mort •, Paris,en 1785."
The drawings
of birdsaremarkedin mostcasesasmade"au Cap,"
which would signify Cap-Hattien,exceptone which is labeled
Fort Dauphin, and are dated from December29, 1773 to August
19, 1784. Apparentlythe interestof Rabi• in this work was
arousedin 1771duringa seajourney,sincesomeof his fishesare
dated for that year. Apparentlyhe was long residentin the
Frenchcolonyof Haiti sinceMoreau de Saint-M•ry in the first
volumeof his Description,etc., "de la Partie Francaiscde l'Isle
Saint-Domingne,"publishedin 1797 (p. 330) has an accountof
Cap-Haitien in which he describesan elaboratefountain construtted in 1769 under the direction of "M. Rabi•, ing•nieur."
482
WE•O,•, TheRabie
Paintings
ofHaitian
Birds.
Auk
[Oct.
In anotherplace(p. 337)he notesa doorwayto a church,completed
in 1774 "•lev• sur les plans & la direction de M. Rabi•, mort
ing•nieuren chef de la Partie du Nord" and further (p. 424)
recordsa structurebegunin September,1752,underplansprepared
by Rabi•. It appearsthat Rabi• was long associated
with the
colony.
The fifty-eightplatesdevotedto birds are boundin a volume
101• by 121• inches,the bindingbeingold with a stickeron the
inside of the front cover that reads:
Aux deux creoles
Rue du Faub. St. HonorS,No. 60.
De La Rue, Rapetier.
Fabrique toutes sortesde Registres& Portfeu.
Fourniture
de Bureaux
Tient tout ce qui k rapport au Dessink la Pein•.
• Paris.
Someof the paintingshad becomefrayed at the edgesbefore
binding and have had the margins trimmed. In its present
arrangementthe drawings have been renumbered,and where
part of the originalinscription
on the backis missingthishasbeen
carefullycopiedso that the entire wordinghas been preserved.
The birds,the majoritybeingnaturalsize,are shownin llfe-like
attitudesin many caseswith a landscapebackground. Though
someare in stilted posturesmost of them are excellentboth in
form and color. Though the commonbirds of the island are
mainly thoserepresented
there may be mentioneda Herring Gull
(no. 37) the only recordof this speciesfor the island,a peculiar
Goatsucker,Antrostomus
cubanensis
ekmani (no. 14) which was
not described
scientifically
until 1929,and the Diablotln (no. 42).
The majority of the paintingshave obviouslybeen taken from
living individuals,and may in my opinionbe acceptedas definite
early recordsfor Haiti of the speciesrepresented
at the localities
and dates indicated.
The followinglist gives the plates in order, with the scientific
and commonnamesfollowedby a literal transcriptof the inscription written on the back, where necessaryaccompanied
by an
explanatorystatementby the presentwriter.
No. 1. Mellisuga mtntrn• vielloti (SHAW). HISPANIOLAN
VERVAIN
PLATE XIX.
ThE AUK, VOL. XLVII.
pl
WEsT II•11)ItN GREBE.
Colymbusdominicusdominicus.
HvMMn•o•mm--Oiseaux-mouches,
mffdeet femelie,leur hid, leurs oeufs,
de grandeurnaturelie. Sur une branchede cafeyer. Nest with two eggs
of usual hummer type.
No. 2. Anthracothorax dominicus (l,lnnaOUS). HISPANIOLAN
MANOOHvMMmO•mm--Colibris, m/de et femelie, de grandeur natureHe.
No. 8. Columba leucocephala Linneaus. Wm•E-CROWN•nI•OEO•.
--Rainier • t•te blanche,de saline, grandeurnaturelie. Le 7 juin 1775.
No. 4. Columba squamosa Bonnaterre. SC•LEn PiOEO•.--Le
Rainier, de grandeurnaturelie.
No.
5. 0olumba
livia
domestica
l.lnnaeus.
DOMESTIC PIOEON.--
La nonette, grandeur naturelie. (Nun with white head, tail, and ends
of primaries.)
No. 6. Amazona ventralis (Mfrller). HisPa•r•or•N P2•RRO•.--Le
Perroquet,grandeurnaturelie.
Marked alsono. 14 perroquet de St. Dominguegrand nat. Cap le 10
juin, 1777 Rabi•.
No. 7. 'Ar•tinga chloroptsmchloroptem(SonancO).
HISI'ANIOLAN
PaaoQv•'•.--La Perruche, grandeur natureHe.
No. 8. Todus subul•tus Gray. HIsP•oI•t• To•Y.--Le Perroquet
de terre, grandeurnaturelie. Marked also no. 39, perroquetde terre,
grand nat., au cap le--1770 Rabit.
No. 9. Mimus polyglottos do,ni•_tcus (Linnaeus).
Mocxi•9im).--Le
Rossignol,grandeurnaturelie.
Marked also le Rossignolgrand nat. au Cap le 23 juin 1777 Rabi•.
No. 10. PstrochsHdon fulv• fulv• (Vieillot). HisP•moi•
C•iFF
Swx•mow.--La Petite hirondeliefauve, grandeurnaturelie.
No. 11. Plumnicophllus l•m-'•'m
palmarum (Linnaeus). H•sP•IOI•_• P*v.u T•Nxor, a.•Le Lory-diamant, grandeurnaturelie.
Marked alsono. 46 le lory di•men grandnat. au cap le 26 juillet 1783.
No. 12. Burro ja•x•Ice•lsia Ja•x•Ioensis (Gmelin). WIm•INDIAN
RE•r•v•.• HAwx.--La Buse,appel•e• St. Dominguemal-fini• moitie
de grandeurnatureHe. Marked also, in pencil, no. 46 La buse appelee
St. Dominguereal fini Moitie de grandnat. le 28 juillet 1783.
No. 18. F•lco sparverlus domtnicznsis Gmelin. ths•o•
S•a- '
Row HAwx.--Fem•le. L'•psrvier, emouehet, ou tiefeeler, aux 4/3 de
grandnstur. au cap le 10 ]uin 1777.
No. 14. Antrostomus culmnsnsis sknumi I•nnberg. Hls•Xmoi•s
Gox•svc,xEa.--(i•ee Plate XXII).
Le Peut-on voit, •
nomm•_,.
parcequil sembleDire Peut-on voir, quand il a chantg.
Alsomarkedno. 53. Le peut-onvoir, •
apeliepareequilsembledire
peut-on
voir,qua•dil a chantS.
grand.nat. Cetoiseaux
vit dsdiversqui
le treuve dansle Boispourriet d'autreinsecttes,.au
cap. Size,colorof the
back, and the buff tips on the lateral rectricesindicate certainly that the
bird representedis this form and not the Chuck-wills-widow. As noted
previouslythis racewasnot describedscientificallyuntil 1929.
484
WETMORE,
TheRabie
Paintings
ofHaitian
Birds.
rank
œOct.
No. 15. Corvus palmarum palmarum Wiirttemberg. PALMCHOW.
--Le corbeau,grandeurnaturelie.au caple 10 juillet 1775--Rabi•. Identificationbasedon sizesincethe figureis too smallfor C. leucognaphalus.
No. 16. Crotophaga ani Linnaeus. ANI.--Le Bout de tabac, grandeur
naturelie. au cap le 7 juin 1775 Rabi•.
No. 17. Coccyzus minor teres Peters. MANOHOVECucKoo.--Le
taco ou pie grand.nat. le 7 juin, 1775 Rabi6.
No. 18. Holoquiscalus niger niger (Boddaert). I-IIsPANIOLAN
GHACKLE.--Le merle, grandeur naturelie.
No. 19. Chryserpes striatus (P. L. S. Miilier). I•IISPANIOLAN
WOODPECKEa.--Lecharpentier•de grandeurnaturelie.au cap le 25 8bre 1775.
No. 20. Zenaida zenaida zenaida (Bonaparte). ZENAXDADOVE.-La tourterelle,de grandeurnaturelie. Le 5 juln, 1775.
No. 21. Chamaepelia passerina insularis (Ridgway). CUBAN
GROUND-DOVE.--L'ortolan,de grandeur naturelie. au cap le 4 juin, 1778.
Date written in pencil and indistinct, possiblynot as given.
No. 22. Oreopeleia montana (Lim•A.eus). RUDDY (•UAIL-DOVE.•
La perdrix, de grandeurnaturelie. fait au cap le 25 8bre 1775 Rabi•.
No. 28. Mimocichla ardosiacea ardosiacea (Vielliot). I•IISPANIOLAN
THHUSH.--Lagrive•de grandeurnaturelie.au caple 28 juillet 1777,Rabi•.
No. 24. Numida galeata Pallas. GUINEAttEN.--jeune pintade, aux
3/4 de grandeurnaturelie 1775. A partly albino individual.
No. 25. Vireo olivaceus olivaceus (Linnaeus) (• V. calidr•s).-JAMAICANV1REo.--Le pierrot--quibic, grandeur naturelie. Voyerbaraire, au cap. 16 juin, 1783.
No. 26. Tiaris olivacea olivacea (Linnaeus) c•. YELLOW-FACED
GR•,SSQUIT.---Oiseau
a Canne,grandeurnaturelieau caple 27 8bre, 1775.
No. 2?. Dendroica domi,qca dominica (Linnaeus). YELLOWTHROATEDWAHBLER.•Oiseau •, Canne, grandeur naturelie. au cap le
27 8bre, 1775. Rabi6.
No. 28. Seiurus noveboracensis (Gmelin). WATER-THHUSH.--L'hermine, oiseaua canne, grandeurnaturelie. au cap le 28 8bre, 1775, Rabi•.
No. 29. Mniotilta varia (Linnaeus). BLACKANDWHITE WARBLER.-Le spectre,oiseaua canne,grandeurnaturelie.au cap 13 8bre, 1775, Rabi6.
No. 80. Dulus dominicus dominicus (Linnaeus). PALM-CttAT.
L'esclave, grandeur naturelie. Fait au cap le 14 8bre, 1775, Rabi•.
No. 81. Cairina moschata (Linnaeus). Muscowr Ducx.--Le
canard musqu•, au 1/3 de grandeur naturelie. au cap le 25 Aout, 1777,
Rabi•. Male, partially albino, evidently a domesticatedbird.
No. 82. Dendrocygna arborea (Linnaeus). WESTINDIANTREE-DUCK.
--Le gingeon,Rabi•.
No. 88. Querquedula discors (Linnaeus). BLUE-WINOEDTEAL.-La Sarcelie.
No. 84. Phoenicopterus tuber Linnaeus. FLAMINOo.--Le flareand,
ou Becharu,au 1/5 de grandeurnaturelie. Also markedno. 38 fiaman ou
PLATE XX.
THE AUK, VOL. XLVII.
BLACK-CAPPED PETREL.
Pterodroma hasitata.
PLATE XXI.
Tu• ArK, Von. XLVII.
HERRING GULL.
Larus argenial•ssmithsonianus.
Becharu,pointd'apr•snature,au cinquime
degrandnat. au caple 26 May,
1783. Rabi•.
No. $õ. (•olymbus dominicus dominicus Linnaeus. WES?INm•N
GR•,BE.--(SeePlate XIX).
Le Plongeon,femelle. Cet oiseaua un grand
amour pour sospetits, lorsqu•llele voir en Danger, elle los cachesoussos
aileset plongeavecrapidite,elle neles abandonne
m•me peslorsqu•llees
morte.
As these Grebescarry their young on the back like other speciesof the
family the attempt on the part of the artist to portraywhat wasevidently
a habit known only from hearsayis highly amusing.
No. $6. Ajaia ajaja (Linnaeus). ROSEATE
SPOONBILI•.•Lasparule,
moitie de grandeurnatureHe.au cap le 3 juin 1783, Rabi•.
NO. $7. LS'•IIS •A"g$1lt&tussmith•olli•,llus
Coues. HERRINGGULL.m
(SeePlate XXI). La mauve, au 2/3 de grandeurnatureHe.au cap le 7
Juillet, 1775. An adult bird in full adult plumage. This is the only
record known for Hispaniola for this species.
No. $8. (?)Thalmsseus sandvicensis acufiavidus (Cabot). PRORABLYCABOT'STERN.•La Mouette, especede mauve, grandeurnatureHe.
Drawn with clear yellow bill and black legs,but otherwisewith size and
color of Cabot's Tern.
No. $9. l'ha•$thon lepturus catesbyi Brandt. YE'.LOW-BmrmD
TROPIC-BIR•.--Especede mouette, aux 3/4 de grandeurnaturelie, ces
oiseauMarche avec peine eten s'aubittant [spellingnot certain] au cap
le-1•-May, 1784,Rabi•.
No. 40. Pelecanus occidentalis occidentalis Linnaeus. B•OWN
P•.IC•W.--Le Pelican, ou grand-gosier,au 1/3 de grandeurnaturelie de
l'extremite du bec, •, cette de la queue,4 piedsde longour. Au cap le 8
aout, 1782. A bird in immatureplumage.
No. 41. Fre•ata xnmg•ificensMathews. F•IGATE-BZmo.--La
frggate,
au 1/4 de grandeur naturelie, six pieds six pouces.d'envergure. Au cap
le 29 juillet 1783. An immaturebird with purewhite head.
No. 42. Ptzrodroma lmaitata (Kuhl). BLACK-CAPPEI•
PETREL.--
(SeePlateXX).
Le Diablotin,au 2/3 de grandeurnaturelie.au caple 26
8bre, 1778, Rabi•. An excellentrepresentationof this bird.
No. 42. •$ternm antillarumm antillanun (Lesson). L•As? TmRN.--
L'alouettede ruer,de grandeurnaturelie. Au cap le 7 aout, 1783Rabi•.
No. 44. Jacanm spinosa violacea (Cory). WES? INVIEW
Le chirurgien,ainsinoraroeparceqdila deuxespeces
deLancette•, l'epaule.
No. 45. Aranlus pictus elucus Peters. LIMPKIN.--Lapoule•- joly
1/2 de grandeur natureHe.
No. 46. Butorides wiresconsmaculatus (Boddaert). WES?-INm•N
GREENHERoN.--Petit-crabier,
espece
deh•ron,aux2/3 de grandeurnatureHe. au cap le 19 aout 1784. An immature bird.
No. 47. Guara alba (Li,•n_aeus).WHITE IBIs.--Le P•cheur, 1/2 de
grandeurnaturelie. au cap le 27 May 1775, Rabi•. An immaturebird
with head and neck brown.
486
WETMORE,
TheRabie
Paintings
ofHaitian
Birds.
Auk
Oct.
No. 48. Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus (Linnaeus). GLOSSYIBIS.--
Le Pacheur,especede courli, 1/2 de grandeurnaturelie. Rabi• fait le 18,
7bre 1775.
An adult bird.
No. 49. Guara alba (Linnaeus). WHITE IBIs.--Autre Pacheur, aux
2/3 de grandeurnaturelie. ces pacheurshabitent les manglesau bord de
la ruer, et vivent de petits poissons,de crabes,et d'dcrevisses.Au cap
le 13 juillet 1783 Rabid. A youngbird barely grown,with bandedbill.
No. 50. Charadrius semipalmatus Bonaparte. SEMIPALMATED
PLOVER.--Lecollier,de grandeurnaturelie. Au caple 1-•aout, 1783,
No. 51. Ereunetes sp. Le marengouin,de grandeurnaturelie. Aux
cap le 29 xbre, 1773. Speciesnot certain.
No. 52. Himantopus mexicanus (Miilier). BLACK-NECKED
STILT.--
Le chevalier1/2 de grandeurnaturelie. Cet oiseaun'estpalm• quedu cbti
desonglesexterieurs,
il vit de petits poissons
au fort dauphin1•- aout,
1783.
No. õ$. Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli (Gmelin). BLACK~CROWNED
NIGHT HERON.--Le
Crabier.
An immature
bird.
No. 54. Florida caerulea caerulescens (Latham). LITTLE BLUE
HERON.--Crabierblanc,1/2 de grandeurnaturelie. An immaturebird in
white dresswith legsdull greenand indication of downy tips on feathers
of crown.
No.
55. Ardea
herodias
adoxa Oberholser.
WEST INDIAN GREAT
BLUEHERON.--Grandcrabier,dit jacob,especedehdronau 1/3 de grandeur
naturelie,4 pieds,six poucesde l'extremit• du bec i• celledespieds. Au
cap, le 4 aout 1784 Rabid. An immaturebird.
No. 56. Casmerodius albus egretta (Gmelin). AMERICANEGRET.Heron blanc, de trois pieds de haut. Also marked heron blanc de St.
Dominguede trois piedsde haut. fait le 16 May, 1775 Rabid.
The bill is yellow, and the legsblack.
No. 57. Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli (Boddaert). BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT HERON.--Le jacobin, 1/2 grandeurnaturelie.
No. 58. Ionornis martinicus (Linnaeus). PURPLEGALLINULE.--
La Pouled'eau,grandeurnaturelie. Alsomarkedno. 5, Pouled'Eau de
St. Domingue grand nat. le 28, May 1775 Rabid.
U.S. National Museum,
Washington,
D. C.
PLATE XXII.
TaE At•, VoL. XLVII.
HIISPANIOLAN GOATSUCKER.
cubanensis ekmani.
Antrostomus