A watercolour of a yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus (Linnaeus)), and chinquapin (Castanea pumila Mill). The bird stands facing left with its head turned to the right. It is on a branch of the plant, with two fruits to left and sprays of leaves and catkins to the right. The drawing includes the nut of the plant, drawn separately at the bottom. Inscribed in ink: (top centre) 'Cuckow of Carolina. Cuculus Caroliniensis'; (bottom right) 'Castanea, pumila Virginiana, rasemoso fructu parvo in Singulis capsulis echinatis unico - D. Banister The Chinquapin'; (top right) '9'

Mark Catesby was born in Suffolk and was interested in natural history from an early age. In 1712, he travelled to the east coast of America with his sister Elizabeth, who had married a doctor who practised in Williamsburg, Virginia. Catesby spent seven years in Virginia collecting specimens and seeds for London buyers before returning to Britain. In London his drawings of birds and plants met with praise and a group of benefactors paid for his travel to Carolina in 1722. There, he made numerous drawings of the flora and fauna, working hard to ensure that his depictions were as helpful for an understanding of their subjects as possible. On his return to Britain, his drawings were reproduced in The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands, which appeared in a series of volumes between 1729 and 1747. The first volume was dedicated to Queen Caroline, the second to Augusta, Princess of Wales. The original drawings from the volumes, which had been in the possession of Catesby’s widow until her death, were purchased by George III from the London bookseller Thomas Cadell in 1768.

This watercolour was used as the basis for plate 9 in the first volume of the Natural History ('The Cuckow of Carolina')  where it was noted that the cuckoo 'is a solitary Bird, frequenting the darkest recesses of woods and shady thickets. They retire at the approach of winter.' Catesby also includes information on the plant from the naturalist John Banister (1654-92), who was based in Virginia from 1679.

For identification of the species depicted see James L. Reveal, ‘Identification of the plants and animals illustrated by Mark Catesby for his Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands’ in Phytoneuron 2013 and revised online version.