The bird collection at Naturalis contains about 400,000 specimens and is still growing. An estimated 60 - 70% of globally known bird species are represented. The collection is arranged taxonomically. Most items come from the Netherlands and the former colonies: including Indonesia and Suriname. But previously many specimens from all over the world have been obtained through traders for the collection. The bird collection includes various means of preservation, so there are nests, eggs, pellets, bellows, loose bones, animals on alcohol, tissue samples, as well as stuffed skeletons and skins.
Highlightsrare and extinct
The bird collection is rich in extinct (sometimes unique) and rare species. For example, the extinct tahiti sandpiper is the only known specimen in the world. The national avifauna is represented by the collections of Wickevoort Crommelin and P.A. Hens. New Dutch birds are still being added to the collection today. In addition to recently added items, there are also specimens that have been in the collection for over 200 years. Some were collected by our first director C.J. Temminck, and were therefore already in the collection at the beginning of Naturalis. Temminck's interest in birds of prey and pigeons is still illustrated by the diversity of species in this part of the collection.
Centerpieces
Many special species have been collected in Japan by Von Siebold and Burger, but the Natuurkundige commissie (Physics Committee) has also made major contributions to the collection from Southeast Asia. The bird collection contains magnificent items set up by the well-known taxidermist family Ter Meer. Researchers from all over the world consult the collection, but it is also of great value for our own exhibition and for those of other museums that sometimes borrow items. Centerpieces are the Darwin finches, the Elephant bird egg and the Dodo skeleton.
Key publications
- van den Hoek Ostende, L.W, Dekker, R.W.R.J, & Keijl, G.O. (1997). Type-specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 1. Non-Passerines. NNM Technical Bulletin, 1, 1–248.
- Dekker, R.W.R.J. (2004). Type specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 2. Passerines: Eurylaimidae – Eopsaltriidae (Peters’s sequence). NNM Technical Bulletin, 6, 1–142.
- Dekker, R.W.R.J, & Quaisser, C. (2006). Type specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden. Part 3. Passerines: Pachycephalidae – Corvidae (Peters's sequence). NNM Technical Bulletin, 9, 1–77.