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Coquerel's Coua, "his" Sunbird ... and "his" invalid Spinetail (Swift) (1 Viewer)

Björn Bergenholtz

(former alias "Calalp")
Sweden
Coquerel's Coua, "his" Sunbird ... and "his" invalid Spinetail (Swift)

Minor additional info, regarding the Nationality on the guy commemorated in ...

coquerellii/coquereli as in (in chronological order):
● Mayotte Sunbird (Nectarinia) Cinnyris coquerellii HARTLAUB 1860 (here) as "N. [Nectarinia] Coquerellii":
Jules Verreaux erhielt diesen Vogel von Dr. Coquerell [sic], welchem er ihn dedicirt sehen mögte.

● Coquerel's Coua Coua coquereli GRANDIDIER 1867 (here, also later same year, same journal, here) as "Coua Coquereli" a k a Coquerel's Madagascar Coua, alt. Madagascar Coucal, Coquerel's Madagascar Coucal or simply; Coquerel's Coua. No dedication, nor any out-spoken explanation.

● the all invalid "Collocalia Coquerelii", POLLEN?, only mentioned as; "in litteris, Pollen" (here, from 1868), ... possibly a name coined by Schlegel, in 1866? See pencil note ... [Synonym of today's Malagasy Spinetail (Collocalia/Chaetura) Zoonavena grandidieri VERREAUX 1867, a k a Madagascar Spine-tailed Swift]

= the fairly unknown (at least among ornithologists, better known among entomologists); Dutch (or maybe Dutch-born French?!)) Naval surgeon Charles Coquerel (1822–1867), in the French Navy – whose full name was Jean*Charles Coquerel, Naturalist and collector (mostly of Insects and Butterflies, but also of a few Birds), in about twenty years, now and then, here and there, from 1846 until at least 1866, on several Islands (most of them in the Indian Ocean, but also in the Caribbean) ... "Docteur en Médecine, Chirurgien de Première Classe de la Marine Française [i.e. from 1860], Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur".

The latter Title should (maybe) make it possible to solve his true Nationality ... !?

Born 2 December 1822 in Amsterdam, Son of Athanase Coquerel, a protestant Preacher, ... and onwards ... until he died 13 April 1867, in the village Salazie, on the Island Réunion (La Réunion, earlier a k a Île Bourbon). For more details; see pp. 194-195, in Nelson Papavero's Paper: Essays on the History of Neotropical Dipterology: with special reference to collectors: 1750-1905: Vol. I (1971), here.

I guess Hartlaub simply spelled his name wrong, in the OD of the Sunbird. But Grandidier sure knew how to write it (with only one, ending single-l).

And I assume that the "Island Saint-Denis", mentioned by Papavero, is the same Réunion (as the main town of that Island, located on its northern shore, is Saint-Denis). I doubt Coquerel spent "three and a half years "exploring L'Île-Saint-Denis, a French commune, in Central Northern France?

If anyone have any additional, or contradictory info on Mr Coquerel, don´t hesitate to post it!

For example: compare with what´s written in Notice nécrologique sur Charles COQUEREL, by Fairmaire (1868), in Annales de la Société entomologique de France (4) 8: pp.301-308 , here (all in French, thereby; off my turf) or Grandidier's own little booklet: Notice sur Charles Coquerel, from 1867 (also in French, here).

Please let me know f Papavero missed, forgot or misunderstood any part! As of now my text (in MS) is mainly based on Papavero's ditto. To me it looks like his text is a shortened version either of the text by Grandidier, or the one by Fairmaire, alt. a compilation of both. For example: does either one tells us where Coquerel studied Medicine?

Charles Coquerel himself allegedly described the invalid "Coccothraustes moreli"** in 1863/4? (however; unseen by me).

And: Just for the "fun" of it: The same Charles Coquerel personally described the screw-worm fly (Lucillia) Cochliomyia hominivorax in 1858 – whose larvae (maggots) he found in an odd place ... in the frontal sinuses of Men!

However; enjoy!

Björn

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*From what I can tell; no hyphen between his two First/Christian names (as it has been written in some papers).
**Coquerel, Dr. 1864. Catalogue des Oiseaux qui se rencontrent à la Réunion. Bulletin de la Société d'Acclimatation et d'Histoire Naturelle de l'île de la Réunion
 
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According to English and French Wikipedia (here resp. here) Charles Coquerel was French ... "Fils d'Anne Rattier et du pasteur Athanase-Charles Coquerel, ..."

And he very well could have been French (only born i Amsterdam), Nationality doesn't always follow the Place of Birth. His parents seems to have been French, and "Charles fit ses études à Paris", ... and onwards.

Now the most disturbing thing is that Wiki claims he died "12 April/avril 1867", but Grandidier wrote "Il y mourut le 13 avril 1867" ... ?
 
The documents on Léonore give his father's name as "Athanase-Laurent-Charles Coquerel"; the rest agrees with the French Wikipedia page, AFAICS (including 12 April 1867 as the date of his death).
He must have been French if he was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour. (Code de la Légion d'Honneur et de la médaille militaire, [Art. R16]: "Nul ne peut être reçu dans la Légion d'honneur s'il n'est Français.")

The archive of the État civil ([here], image #10, lower left) also say 12 April. (At 1:30 AM, in the military hospital of Hell-Bourg, Salazie, La Réunion.)
 
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A better citation curtesy of J. Hume Reappraisal of the parrots of the Mascarene Islands 2007.
Coquerel, C. (1864) Catalogue des animaux qui se rencontrent à la Réunion: Oiseaux. Bulletin de la Société d'Acclimation et d'Histoire naturelle de l'Ile de La Réunion, 2(1), 7–27
 
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