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Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in Renaissance painting

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Subject: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in Renaissance painting
From: brian fleming <>
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 17:08:09 +1100
I have only just come in on this discussion. I recollect similar confusion over a 16th century portrait of a child, I think a young Russell from the Duke of Bedford's family, with a yellow-crested cockatoo - the conclusion was that it was a Wallacean species, which would have come to Western Europe with Dutch East Indian trade. Plumes from Birds of Paradise were traded along the Spice Routes, and I see no reason why a live Cockatoo might not have survived long-distance travel. Large seed-eating birds are not hard to transport. The Tigers occasionally seen in Rome probably came from Persia - there used to be a Caspian subspecies, probably now extinct. They were found in forested regions, while lions were found in more steppe-like habitats. I believe that a very few Leopards still survive.

Anthea Fleming


On 19/03/2014 2:15 PM, Andrew Taylor wrote:
Parrots (Psitticula sp.) apparently survived the journey from India
to ancient Rome, so its quite plausible a cockatoo would survived
a longer journey 2000 years later.  Tigers which are less portable -
also apparently survived the journey to ancient Rome from India.

Andrew

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