Pelecanus occidentalis
This 18th Century watercolour of a Pelican was painted by Charles Collins in 1743, forming part of the Taylor White Collection: a remarkable body of natural history illustration commissioned in the mid-1700s and now held by McGill University Library. The bird depicted, Pelecanus occidentalis, is native to the coastlines of North and South America, where it remains a familiar and striking presence along shorelines and estuaries.
Description of the Pelican
The Pelican is instantly recognisable by its long bill and expandable throat pouch, an adaptation that allows the bird to scoop fish from the water with remarkable precision. Rather than storing food in the pouch, the Pelican uses it to drain water immediately after a catch, retaining only the fish before swallowing. This specialised feeding method sets the species apart from most other coastal birds and made it a natural subject for the detailed observational studies favoured by 18th Century natural historians.
Collins’s watercolour reflects the careful, scientific approach typical of the Taylor White Collection, in which artists worked to record plumage, form and colouring with precision rather than embellishment. The result is a study that remains as informative today as it was when first painted, offering a faithful record of the Pelican’s distinctive silhouette and bearing.
Social Habits of the Pelican
Pelicans are also notable for their social habits, often gathering in groups to rest, preen or fish cooperatively, herding shoals of fish into shallow water before feeding together. This combination of striking anatomy and sociable behaviour has long made the species a favourite subject for artists and naturalists alike, and Collins’s rendering captures both with quiet authority.
c.1680 - 1744
Charles Collins (c.1680-1744) was a painter of birds, mammals and still life, born in Dublin and trained in Ireland before establishing himself in London. He built his early reputation on still-life subjects, including a series of fruit studies for Robert Furber's Twelve Months of Fruit (1732), before turning increasingly to natural history illustration. From 1736, Collins worked alongside Peter Paillou to produce watercolours of British birds and mammals for the naturalist and collector Taylor White, contributing over 200 signed works to White's collection. His animal studies are noted for their lifelike composition, typically set against a grassy mound or tree stump rather than a plain background, and for the accuracy with which plumage and colouring were recorded from live or preserved specimens. Collins died in London in 1744, described at the time as Bird Painter to the Royal Society.
Credit: Taylor White Collection, Rare Books & Special Collections, McGill University Library.