Electronic inventory of European bird collections
The Natural History Museum (BMNH or NHM)
What is in the bird collection?
| Skins | 750000 |
| Egg sets | 200000 |
| Skeletons | 15187 |
| Mounts | 6000 |
| Spirits | 17135 |
| Nests | 4000 |
| Other Items | n/a |
People
Current staff
| Full name | Job title | eBEAC member |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Adams | Senior Curator | Yes |
| Alex Bond | Senior Curator In Change | Yes |
| Nigel Collar | Scientific Associate | No |
| Joanne Cooper | Senior Curator | Yes |
| Clemency Fisher | Scientific Associate | Yes |
| Julian Hume | Scientific Associate | No |
| Steve Portugal | Scientific Associate | No |
| Robert Prys-Jones | Scientific Associate | Yes |
| Pamela Rasmussen | Scientific Associate | No |
| Douglas Russell | Senior Curator | Yes |
| Gavin Thomas | Scientific Associate | No |
| Hein van Grouw | Senior Curator | Yes |
| Judy White | Curator | Yes |
Important past bird staff
| Full name | Job title | eBEAC member |
|---|---|---|
| P. R. Colston | No | |
| I. C. J. Galbraith | No | |
| D. Goodwin | No | |
| J. E. Gray | No | |
| G. R. Gray | No | |
| B. P. Hall | No | |
| C. J. O. Harrison | No | |
| N. Kinnear | No | |
| W. E. Leach | No | |
| P. R. Lowe | No | |
| W. R. Ogilvie-Grant | No | |
| P. L. Sclater | No | |
| R. Bowdler Sharpe | No | |
| G. Shaw | No | |
| D. Snow | No |
Special collections
| Name | Country (from) |
|---|---|
| India Mus. | United Kingdom |
| Linnean Society of London | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Alert | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Beagle | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Blossom | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Challenger | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Erebus & Terror | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Herald | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Rattlesnake | United Kingdom |
| Voy. Sulphur | United Kingdom |
| Zoological Society of London | United Kingdom |
Collectors
Important collections from
- A. L. Adams
- J. Aitchison
- B. Alexander
- J. Anderson
- F. B. Armstrong
- D. A. Bannerman
- G. L. Bates
- R. C. Beavan
- J. Biddulph
- C. T. Bingham
- W. Blanford
- W. Blewitt
- W. E. Brooks
- G. Brown
- F. Brüggemann
- A. Buchanan
- W. Buller
- A. L. Butler
- E. A. Butler
- G. Caley
- D. Carruthers
- R. E. Cheesman
- W. N. Chill
- A. F. Christison
- Cockburn
- J. Cockerell
- P. Conrad
- J. Cook
- W. D. Cowan
- S. Coxen
- C. Coxen
- J. N. Cripps
- P. Crowley
- H. Cuming
- J. W. N. Cumming
- C. R. Darwin
- C. Davison
- W. R. Davison
- de Riocour
- J. Delacour
- P. M. Diard
- F. Dörries
- H. Durnford
- A. H. Everett
- T. C. Eyton
- H. W. Feilden
- H. O. Forbes
- A. D. Forbes-Watson
- D. Forsyth
- L. Fraser
- E. Gerrard
- J. Gilbert
- F. D. Godman
- H. H. Godwin-Austen
- A. Goldie
- W. Goodfellow
- P. Gosse
- J. Gould
- C. H. B. Grant
- J. H. Gurney
- E. Hargitt
- H. H. Harington
- E. Hartert
- G. Henderson
- H. W. Henshaw
- B. H. Hodgson
- P. A. Holst
- Thomas Horsfield
- A. O. Hume
- C. Ingram
- F. J. Jackson
- H. B. James
- T. C. Jerdon
- H. H. Johnston
- E. G. Johnstone
- F.C. R. Jourdain
- H. J. Kelsall
- J. Kirk
- C. Boden Kloss
- C. L. Landbeck
- E. Layard
- L. Layard
- J. J. Lister
- C. Livingstone
- W. L. Lloyd
- G. Loddiges
- W. P. Lowe
- F. Ludlow
- H. Lynes
- J. MacGillivray
- L. Mandelli
- C. H. T. Marshall
- F. Shaw Mayer
- J. McClelland
- E. McConnell
- R. Meinertzhagen
- A. B. Meyer
- G. Montagu
- H. Moseley
- J. Murray
- E. Newton
- E. W. Oates
- A. Owston
- Emin Pascha
- Pemberton
- H. Philby
- S. Pinwill
- J. Polatzek
- H. Pryer
- T. S. Raffles
- Stamford Raffles
- S. G. Reid
- W. B. Richardson
- C. B. Rickett
- G. Rippon
- H. C. Robinson
- A. W. Roepstorff
- W. F. H. Rosenberg
- E. Rüppell
- O. Salvin
- H. Saunders
- R. H. Schomburgk
- W. E. D. Scott
- J. Scully
- H. Seebohm
- W. Serle
- R. Shaw
- G. E. Shelley
- G. Sherriff
- H. H. Slater
- H. Smith
- A. Smith
- William "Tangier" Smith
- L. Sowerby
- O. B. St John
- W. Stalker
- J. K. Stanford
- S. Stevens
- F. Stoliczka
- R. Strachey
- C. Sturt
- F. W. Styan
- C. Swinhoe
- R. Swinhoe
- W. H. Sykes
- W. R. Thompson
- C. B. Ticehurst
- S. Tickell
- J. D. D. La Touche
- H. B. Tristram
- Tweeddale
- N. Vigors
- J. Vincent
- A. R. Wallace
- H. Walton
- A. E. Ward
- R. G. Wardlaw-Ramsay
- G. R. Waterhouse
- J. Waterstradt
- E. Weiske
- H. Whistler
- J. I. S. Whitaker
- J. Whitehead
- C. H. T. Whitehead
- A. Whyte
- E. Wilson
- A. W. S. Wingate
- H. F. Witherby
- A. F. R. Wollaston
- C. M. Woodford
- C. K. Worthen
- J. W. Yerbury
The Natural History Museum
Bird Group, Akeman Street, Tring, Herts., HP23 6AP, United Kingdom
- Email:
- birdenquiries@nhm.ac.uk
- Website:
- http://www.nhm.ac.uk
- Tel:
- +44 (0)207 942 5000
- Fax:
Summary
The outstanding ornithological collection of the Natural History Museum represents about 95 per cent of known bird species. There are up to 700,000 skins, over 15,000 skeletons, over 17,000 specimens in spirit, about 4,000 nests and some 200,000 sets of eggs (representing 52% of recognised species). Specimens range in age from before the founding of the British Museum in 1753 to the present day.
Brief history
Sir Hans Sloane's (1660 –1753) Museum and Library were sold, at his death, to the British Government for £20,000 and his collection formed the basis of both the British Museum and later the Natural History Museum (NHM). In the mid-18th century the number of birds and their parts, eggs and nests, was recorded as only 1172 but in 1824, the famous British Zoologist, John Edward Gray (1800-1875) became an Assistant, and in 1840 Keeper of the Zoological Department, a post which he held for the next 34 years. With the completion of the new British Museum building in 1845 at Bloomsbury, immense progress in the development of the collections was possible. When the renowned British ornithologist, Dr. Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847-1909) took charge of the bird collections in 1872, the collection already comprised ca. 35,000 specimens. During the next 40 years the collections grew tenfold and by the early 1900s the bird collection was undoubtedly amongst the most important in the world and held at least 400,000 specimens. In the early 1970s, with space at the main NHM site in South Kensington at a premium, the bird collections and staff were moved permanently to the Natural History Museum at Tring in Hertfordshire. The NHM bird collections and library thrived in their new home and continue to grow steadily. The NHM bird collections are an invaluable research resource for scientists internationally. They are not generally open to the public, but people involved in original research or in the production of scientific or reference artwork intended for publication (either amateur or professional) may apply to visit by prior appointment.
Updates
Please email us with any updates to this information and let us know if you’d like to supply a picture for your organisation.