HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ORNITHOLOGY
OF SURINAM
BY
THOMAS E. PENARD
The literature of the avifauna of Surinam is scattered
through the pages of numerous scientific periodicals, the
published proceedings and transactions of learned societies, general works on zoology, narratives of travelers, and
the miscellaneous publications of writers on the Colony.
The oldest records of birds of the New World are to be
found in the manuscripts and sculptural remains of the
pre-Columbian civilizations of Central America. In the
Maya Codices we find many representations of birds, or
parts of birds, drawn in conventional forms and attitudes,
and among these we recognize several species whose ranges
extend southward and eastward to Surinam, such as,
for example, the Harpy Eagle, i/ar^na /mr/>yta (Linn.),
and the King Vulture, San:0?7mm/>/ms />a/>a (Linn.) *).
Even the earliest accounts of America contain allusions
to birds which attracted the attention of the navigators.
Apparently the first writer to mention the birds of the
New World, was the Spanish historian Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, official chronicler of the Indies.
His extremely interesting book, Oumfo ^e/a «a/wra/ Ays/on'd dtf/as /w^'fls, published in Toledo in 1526, contains descriptions of many American birds. Some of these as, for
example, the Flamingo and the Pelican, are also inhabitants of the coast of Guiana; hence Oviedo may be considered the first European writer to deal with birds belonging to the avifauna of Surinam. In a later, wholly differ') C/. Alfred M. Tozzer and Glover M. Allen, Animal Figures in the Maya
Codices, Cambridge, Mass., 1910.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
ent work by the same author, ü/ïsfona genera/ y
oV /as 7«aYas, the first nineteen „books" of which were
published in 1535, the author devotes an entire „book"
to the ornis.
Soon after the discovery of America explorers and adventurers began to bring back to Europe various curiosities of natural history, among which there were sometimes
the skins of strange or brightly colored birds. The French
ornithologist Pierre Belon du Mans, in his L'-öts/otVe ^ /a
»a/wre ies oys0att#(l 555), speaks of this traffic, and describes
and figures two birds said to have come from Brazil. The
first of these, which he calls the „Pié deBresil", is shown on
page 292 and is evidently the Yellow-backed Cacique, Ca«CMS ctf/a (Linn.), whose range extends over northern and
eastern South America from Colombia to Bahia. The figure is good except the bill which is too short and blunt
and much too dark in color; but the text is quite clear in
this respect, describing it as long and pointed, white and
ashy. This plate of the Yellow-backed Cacique, or as the
bird is commonly known in Surinam, the „Banana-bek",
is particularly interesting because it is, I believe ,the first
colored illustration of a New World bird the description
of which is sufficiently accurate to enable us to identify
the species with certainty. The second bird, shown on
page 319, is the „Merle de bresil", readily identified as
i?am^)Aoce/ws 6rast7»ws (Linn.), whose range is confined to
eastern Brazil.
Although since its discovery the coast of Guiana had
been visited by hosts of adventurers in quest of the fabled
Manoa del Dorado, we have no knowledge of any settlement in Surinam prior to the year 1613. Sir Walter Raleigh (1596), Captain Lawrence Keymis (1598), and Robert Harcourt (1613), who visited the coast and rivers of
Guiana, mention the birds in very general terms, expatiating upon their gorgeous plumage or excellent qualities as
articles of food, but we find very little of ornithological
interest until well into the seventeenth century.
Apparently the first author to write in detail about the
birds of the Guiana region was OtthoKeye whose interest-
ORNITHOLOGY OF SURINAM
147
ing little book, # ^ waere Onierscfoy/
Wanne Z.awaVn, was published at The Hague in 1659. The
secondary title of this work is worded: „Op het onderscheyt tusschen Koude ende Warme Landen, beschreven
ende uyt-gegeven by d'Heer Ottho Keye Gewesene Capiteyn Ten dienste der Vereenighde Nederlanden, in Brazyl,
ende jegenwoordigh Eerste Raedt van de Geoctroyeerde
Guajaensche Colonye." In chapter XVIII he deals with
the birds—„Van de beesten ende Dieren ofte het vee, 't Gevogelte soo Tam als Wildt, grof als Kleen, 't welcke in
Guajana ghevonden wort." This writer mentions doves,
parrots, birds of prey, hummingbirds, herons, ibises, and
ducks. He tells us that the Mouton—evidently the Horned
Screamer, PaZam^ea comwta Linn. — has on its head
and wings a horn which it makes use of in fighting its enemies; and when the bird wants to drink, it first dips the
horn which is on its head into the water, stirring it well to
cleanse it of all poisonous matter that may be within it.
His description of the Ruby-and-Topaz Hummingbird,
CAryso/am/us mosym/ws (Linn.), is so enthusiastic that I
yield to the temptation to repeat it here: „lek en kan alhier niet laten te ghedencken aen een seer Edel Beest jen
in Brazyl ghenoemt Beya-Froule, ende in Guajana Eva
Nere, het welcke is een kleyn vogelt jen / dat niet meer
vleesch en heeft aen 't lyf als omtrent de groote van een
lit van een vinger: welckers hooft jen boven is van een
extraordinaris Carmosijn couleur / ende onder zyn buyckjen is het soo uytnemende blinckende / dat geen goudt /
nochte vier / hoe versch ende glinsterende het oock mach
wesen daerby to gelycken is." He also speaks of the snowy
white Egrets, big and little, whose immaculate feathers
he mentions as being in much demand in various parts of
Europe; of the Scarlet Ibis, Gwara mem (Linn.), and its
changes in plumage from the dull young bird to the gorgeous scarlet adult — „jae / soo hoog en schoon Incarnaet
als eenigh oogh mach aenschouwen."
The first writer to tell us anything about the bird-life
of Surinam in particular was George Warren (1667) in his
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
Co/owy, e/c", which, so the title informs us, is „Worthy
the Perusal of all, from the Experience of George Warren
Gent." The author introduces the subject of birds by
saying: „Which generally both for Beauty and Goodness,
may, I believe, Claim Priority from most in the World:
But the Philomela's warbling throat is wanting to all, in
those too savage Mansions for so sweet a Guest. The Birds
there, making no other Harmony, but in horror, one howling, another schreiching; a third, as 't were, groaning and
lamenting; all agreeing in their ill-Consorted Voyces to
Represent the dismal Yellings of a Hell-bred Quire: But
what is wanting in their Musick (which Contributes nothing to real uses) is more than Compensated by their
other Excellences." Referring to what is evidently the
Flamingo, P&£omc0/>terws rwfer Linn., he says: „And,
upon the Sea-Coast, are a kind of Fowl (whose Name I
don't remember) so tall, that at a distance, they appear
like Companies of Men, upon the Sand, and coming neerer, their glittering feather'd Armors (of so pure a Scarlet
as no Art can equal) almost dazzle the greedy Eyes of the
Beholders." The author further mentions the Duck, Teal,
Widgeon, Plover, Snite, Pheasant, Partridge, Parrots,
Hummingbirds, a „Black Bird which hangs its Nest like a
Pursnet", and concludes: „A great deal might be spoken
more Commendatory, at least more Curious upon this subject, by some body, whose Observations were intended,
not, like mine, taken, as it were, by chance, and without a
thought of rendring them more Publique, then by Cursory, and Verbal Repetition to Familiars." — Such is our
first acquaintance with the bird-life of Surinam.
Another writer of this period, Adriaan van Berkel, gives,
in his /immAaawsc/jg FoyagtVw (1695) a practically literal
translation of Warren's account into Dutch, without
acknowledging the true source of his information.
Just when ornithological specimens from Surinam were
first introduced into Europe I am unable to determine.
The first allusion to such an object, however, seems to be
ORNITHOLOGY OF SURINAM
149
in Nehemiah Grew's Afws^ww .Rega/zs, published in 1681,
in which we find listed among other curiosities in the collection of the Ro\'al Society, preserved at Gresham College, „the bill of the Fleming of Suranam" .which he compares to that of a toucan.
It appears, on the other hand, that entomological specimens from Surinam were not at all scarce in collections of
that period. Indeed, in the preface of her celebrated Metamor/>/!cms Swrmawewstwrn /ws^c/orwm (1705), Maria Sibylla Merian states that her decision to visit the Colony
had been influenced by her having seen so many specimens from that part of the world in the private collections
it had been her privilege to examine. She mentions particularly the cabinets of Nicolaas Witsen, Burgomaster of
Amsterdam, Jonas Witsen, Secretary of the same city,
Frederick Ruysch, celebrated Doctor of Medicine and
Professor of Anatomy and Botany at Amsterdam, and Mr.
Levinus Vincent, also of Amsterdam. It is not improbable
that some of these collections also contained ornithological material from Surinam. At least one of them, that of
Levinus Vincent*), is known to have contained neotropical birds as well as insects.
Madam Merian sailed for Surinam in June 1699, primarily to study on the spot the insect-life. She remained
in the Colony just two years, and upon her return to Europe brought back with her a considerable collection of
entomological specimens, upon which she based her wellknown work on the insects of Surinam. I am not aware
that she also had any birdskins, but we do know that she
made a number of paintings of birds while in Surinam,
and that some of these were purchased by Sir Hans Sloane
and afterward deposited in the British Museum, where,
I believe, they still are. In his memoir of Madam Merian,
James Duncan ^) says that other drawings are found in
') C/. Description abregée des Planches qui représentent les cabinets et
quelques-unes des Curiosités contenues dans Ie Theatre des Merveilles de
la Nature de Levin Vincent, a Harlem, aux dépens de l'auteur, 1719.
•) Memoir of Maria Sibilla Merian, in Naturalist Library, vol. 30 (1860),
p. 29.
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HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
public collections in Petersburgh and the cabinets of Holland and Germany. One of the drawings representing a
duck was afterward reproduced by Shaw and Nodder in
their iVatarató's Misc^/awy, vol. 2, pi. 69. Shaw in commenting upon the figure states that „the very extraordinary and beautiful bird here figured is accurately copied
from a most elegant drawing by the celebrated Madam
Merian, and is one of the birds of Surinam which occur in
the representations by that lady." He names this bird the
Merian Duck, a doutbful honor when we consider that the
duck represented was, so far as we are able to judge, a hybrid between the Muskovy Duck, CazVma ?ttosc&ata (Linn)
and the domestic Mallard.
In her M^amor^osz's SMrmamewsmw /wsec/omm Madam Merian has nothing to say about birds except in connection with Plate 18. This depicts a huge spider (Mygale
sp.) in the act of capturing a hummingbird beside its nest
containing four(!) eggs. Turning to the text we are informed that the hummingbird is the only article of food
of the priests of Surinam!
In 1702 James Petiver of London, a wealthy apothecary, began the publication of his Ga2:o/>Ay/acw ./Vatorae ^
^4^'s, in the fifth „decas" of which, published in 1706, he
describes three Surinam birds. The first, Tab. XLIV, No.
13, is an Aracari (Pteroglossus sp.); the second, Tab.
XLVI, No. 12, is the Red-and-Black Manakin, P ^ r a
a«ra)/a awreofo (Linn.); and the third, Tab. XLVI, No.
14, the Golden-capped Manakin, Pz^ra ery^/woc^/ja/a
£ry//woc^>AaZtf (Linn.). These items are of interest since
the accompanying illustrations are probably the first of
which the subjects were Surinam birds, two of which are
absolutely indentifiable as to species. As a matter of fact
Petiver did not see the specimens themselves, but copied
the figures from Dutch paintings which he said were
brought from Holland by a Mr. Clark.
A few years later J. D. HL. (J. D. Herlein) published
his jB^scAryvrngg va« ^0 FoZ^-^aw^'Mge Zwnwawe (1718) in
which he devotes a chapter to the fauna — Van d'aanmerkelijkste Vogelen, en andere Gedierten, zo talrijk als
ORNITHOLOGY OF SURINAM
151
het land de zelve opgeeft." He writes with enthusiasm
about the hummingbirds, which he calls „bee-birds,"
and also about the macaws; but although many of the
species mentioned by this writer are readily indentified,
others are not. For example, the curious ash-gray bird
which the Indians value so highly and whose wailing at
night is considered a good omen; and the Gonambucho,
not larger than a lark, with glossy white plumage and a
song comparable with that of the nightingale; or the
small bird, the size of a siskin, which is never seen on land,
the female of which lays its eggs while flying high in the
air over the sea; and the eggs in dropping are hatched on
the way down by the heat of the air, the young falling
gently into the sea from which they receive their nourishment — „dat ongemeen in de Natuur te bezeffen is."
One of the earliest cabinets of natural history in which
ornithological specimens from Surinam were represented,
was that of the learned Albert Seba, an apothecary of
Amsterdam. In his JLocw^/gfo'ssïTm' iferwra wa/wfa/mm
77&gsawnflccMrataDescn/^'o etc. (1734), Tom. I, pi. 37,
this author figures a hummingbird, C/wyso/am^w wos§m'£ws (Linn.), from Curacao, adding that he also had
some which had been sent to him from Surinam, among
which there were others with brillant green plumage. Plate
110, fig. 6, of the same work illustrates another bird
from Surinam which I am unable to identify. The collection was dispersed after Seba's death and a part of it was
acquired by Arnout Vosmaer for the museum of the
Prince of Orange.
In 1743 George Edwards brought out the first part of
his ^4 iVfltoraZ .Hïsfory o/ 5ï>is *) in which he pictures and
describes ten birds from Surinam. The sepcimens were in
the collection of the Duke of Richmond who had obtained
them from Holland. I do not know who at that time had
brought or was sending specimens from Surinam, but
that there were collectors of natural history objects there
is certain, for Linnaeus in his
») The three subsequent parts, published in 1747, 1750, and 1751 respectively, contain no bird matter pertaining specifically to Surinam.