George Bass, an early bird collector in the Pacific (1801-1802), and some notes on early bird collecting on the Pacific Ocean islands

摘要

The arrival of two living Samoan Fruit-doves Ptilinopus fasciatus on 7 June 1803 in the harbour of Le Havre, France with the return of one of the Baudin expeditionary vessels, the Naturaliste, marked the arrival of the first live birds from the tropical Pacific in Europe. More specimens from the tropical Pacific followed on 24 March 1804 when the second Baudin vessel, the Geographe, arrived at Lorient, France. The person responsible for collecting these birds was - most likely - George Bass (1771-1803), who donated these specimens to the expedition commanded by Nicolas Baudin at Port Jackson, Australia in November 1802. This paper documents Bass's bird collecting activities, his 1801-02 voyage, the role of the Baudin expedition and the Museum National d'His-toire naturelle in Paris (e.g., donation, exchanges), and it documents the history of bird collecting in the tropical Pacific - on locations visited by Bass - pre-1823.