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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"Southern Oriole"
Artist: Watling, Thomas
Created: [between 1792 and 1797]
Dimensions: 21 x 18.2 cm
Reference: Watling Drawing - no. 149

 
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Bird in profile, facing to the left, perched on a branch against a plain background. The bird has a pale brown bill from which a forked tongue protrudes. The head and back are olive green, slightly grey beneath the eye, and covered with darker flecks. The breast and belly are white with dark grey flecks. The wing and tail feathers are grey overlaid with darker hatched lines and white highlights. The drawing is framed by a pencil border and annotated in ink and pencil.

 
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  • Thomas Watling]
  • The drawing has been inscribed in ink at bottom "Half the Natural size,".
  • The drawing is signed at lower left beneath the branch "Thos. Watling, delt." in faded brown ink, but is undated.
  • The drawing is inscribed in ink at top right with the number "67.". 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 left "Southern Oriole La MS", and at top right "Non Dist". This has been copied in ink at bottom "Southern Oriole. Lathams MS". ("Lathams MS" refers to the catalogue list compiled by John Latham - see above.)
  • This bird was most recently identified as the Olive-backed Oriole, Oriolus sagittatus in Hindwood K. A. (1970).
  • The drawing is annotated in pencil at top left "Lambert Drawing II. 15". 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 12149
  • 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).