Acer palmatum, although there are more than 100 species of maple worldwide, only one species (Acer campestre) is native to the UK.

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Natural history

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"Dark Rail"
Artist: Port Jackson Painter
Created: [between 1788 and 1797]
Dimensions: 24.9 x 19.4 cm
Reference: Watling Drawing - no. 328

 
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Bird in profile, facing to the right. It is depicted standing on a pink-brown outcrop, in front of an expanse of water represented by a gradated wash of blue through pale yellow to blue, overlaid with short black and grey horizontal lines, with an island on the horizon. The bird's underparts are dark grey, and the upper parts dark brown, all overlaid with black hatched lines. The drawing is annotated in ink and pencil. It is framed by a pencil border at the top and sides, with a panel at the bottom approximately 2 cm. high which contains the ink annotations, and is outlined with three ruled lines of black ink above and two below.

 
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  • Port Jackson Painter]
  • The drawing is annotated in ink at bottom "December - A Bird of Norfolk Island Natural size".
  • The drawing is unsigned and undated.
  • The drawing is inscribed in ink at top right with the number "257.". This refers to the catalogue list compiled by John Latham c. 1801 which was acquired with the drawings, and is filed with them at the end of the Watling Drawings series.
  • The drawing is annotated in pencil at top "Dark Rail - La. MS". and at top right "Qu x. 98"[?]. This has been copied in ink at bottom, "Dark Rail Latham MS.". "Latham MS" refers to the manuscript catalogue list compiled by John Latham (see note above).
  • This bird was more recently identified as the Spotless Crake, Porzana tabuensis in Hindwood K. A. (1970).
  • The drawing is annotated in pencil at top "Lambert Drawing II. 84". This refers to a related set of drawings from the collections of the 13th Earl of Derby, held in the Library at Knowsley Hall, Lancashire.
  • The author of this catalogue record is Suzanne Stenning.
  • By permission of the trustees of the Natural History Museum (London)
  • Two sets of transparencies held in the Natural History Museum (London) Zoology Library and Picture Library: Picture Library reference number 12328
  • James Lee of Kensington : purchased ; 1902
  • Data sheet available.
  • Hindwood K. A. 'The "Watling" drawings with incidental notes on the "Lambert" and the "Latham" drawings', Proceedings of the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales for the years 1968-69 (1970).