Black-Bellied Plover
Obediah Verity (1813-1901)
Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1880
10 3/4 in. long
A plump plover with distinct beetle-head carving. It is difficult to find Verity plover decoys that do not have repainted breasts, as these rigs of decoys were typically hunted heavily.
Original paint with gunning wear, areas of touch-up to head and left wing, and a replaced bill.
Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection
Literature: Timothy R. Sieger, "The Decoys of Long Island," Water Mill, NY, 2010, p. 31, similar decoy illustrated.
E. Jane Townsend, "Gunners Paradise; Wildfowling and Decoys on Long Island," Stony Brook, NY, 1979, p. 33 and pp. 115-117, fig. 188-194, similar decoys illustrated.
Laurence Sheehan, "The Birding Life," New York, NY, 2011, p. 92, exact decoy illustrated.
Condition
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