Evidence for the Collection of a Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) in Nova Scotia During the 19th Century and its Association with the McCulloch Collection of Birds

Résumé

Based on several lines of evidence, a specimen of an adult white-morph Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) now on display in the Macdonald Museum of the Annapolis Valley Historical Society in Middleton, Nova Scotia, probably originated from the 19th-century Nova Scotian bird collections of Thomas McCulloch senior (1776–1843) and his son Thomas (1809–1865), likely between 1838 and 1865. The only other records of this species in Canada are sightings in Nova Scotia in 1965 and 1966. This may therefore be the first specimen evidence of the species in Nova Scotia and Canada. Historical evidence links the specimen with the McCulloch collection of birds, part of which has survived at Dalhousie University.