Can you tell a Superb Parrot from a Carolina Parrakeet? Well, I thought I could but looking at the current movie ‘Anonymous’ today I was wondering why the Earl of Oxford would have a pair of stuffed and mounted Superb Parrots on his desk in the 1590s. They were in clear view, even close-up, for a while, but after they disappeared it occurred to me that they were meant to be Carolina Parrakeets, which could have been just about right for a time when such curiosities were finding their way over from the new world, although query the state of the taxidermic art at that time. Trying to apply the distinguishing field characters at this remove is a little difficult. I wonder if the film-makers didn’t go to the British Museum in quest of a Carolina Parrakeet for a touch of authenticity, only to be told “Sorry our Carolinas are a bit fragile, but if you like you can have either a Norwegian Blue or a couple of these Aussie Superbs, which are very popular”. Anyway, entertaining though the film was, I’m not going back just to settle the issue, but if you are seeing it keep your IDing eye peeled at that point, and let me know what you think. Maybe a third of the way into the movie, when the earl is discussing dowries with the countess.
