First Fleet artwork collection

Bird, its body facing left and its head turned in profile to the right. It is depicted standing on a river bank or shore, in a landscape with reed-like plants in the foreground and hills in the distance. The bird has a long red bill, and a predominantly black body with a white rump and underparts. The drawing is framed by a pencil border and annotated in ink and pencil.

• A separate sheet of laid paper measuring 9.8 x 18.6 cm. is mounted below the drawing. It is inscribed in blue pencil at top right with the number "255", and at top left, in brown ink, with three small circles arranged in an inverted pyramid. The main text, in pale brown ink, reads "Native name Boo=an-ing, or Booming This is a very recluse and Solitary Bird, being never found in more than pairs. It has but one simple plaintive tone, which it never varies. the Drawing is about one fourth of the Natural size. This appears to be a variety of the red Bill which is the common name it goes by Here, or it is a young ones full plumage, [It frequents the s (deleted)] for most others have had the legs as red as the Bill, It frequents the sea shores, and lives on spawn and young Fish, both shell and others, which gives the Flesh a Fat of which it has a great share, it is a strong Fish of an oily flavour, both the Flesh and Fat, are high colour'd particularly the latter which is mostly red and very abundant as before noticed. It is naked or bare of feathers one third up the thigh. Its toes are more fleshy and thick than Sea Birds in general, and are a little way connected by a Web or membrane in so much that they may be called palmatted - New Holland oister catcher Latham syn 5. p. 219. Variety of Pied Oister Catcher Qu if not a new species,".
• 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 12326
• James Lee of Kensington : purchased ; 1902
• Data sheet available.
• Latham, John. A General Synopsis of Birds. London: Benjamin White, 1781-85.
• 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).
• Thomas Watling]
• The drawing is annotated in ink at lower left "Native name, Boo-an-ing".
• The drawing is signed at bottom right "Thos. Watling delint. -", but is undated.
• The drawing is inscribed in ink at top right with the number "255.". 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 "New Holland Oister Catcher Syn v. 219. va. Qu if not dist.". This has been copied in ink onto the separate sheet of annotations affixed to the mount below the drawings (see below). The page reference is to Latham's General Synopsis of Birds (1781-5).
• This bird was more recently identified as the Pied Oyster Catcher, Haematopus ostralegus in Hindwood K. A. (1970).
• The drawing is annotated on the reverse but the edges of the text have been lost when the drawing was cropped. What remains reads "gives the flesh & fat of which it has a great trong fishy or oily flavour: both the flesh & fa high colour'd particularly the latter, which is & very abundant as before noticed. It is nak e of feathers 1/3 up the thigh, its toes are no hy and thick than sea birds in general, & are a nected by a web or membrane in so much tha be call'd Palmated -". The full text is repeated on a separate sheet mounted below the drawing.