Research & Collections :: Collections at the State Museum :: Biology
The bird collection is of great historic and scientific value. Highlights include taxidermy mounts of extinct species such as the Labrador Duck, Passenger Pigeon, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Eskimo Curlew, and Carolina Parakeet. The skeleton collection contains over 2000 specimens including the Robert W. Shufeldt collection, mostly obtained in the 1880's. The nest and egg collection is one of the world's largest, and its coverage is worldwide, although emphasis is on North American and European species. The bird skins are mainly North American, highlighted by specimens from Long Island collected by Roy C. Latham, and from western New York collected by Steven W. Eaton.

The collection adds hundreds of new specimens each year, primarily from birds salvaged by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and from birds found by citizens. The Ornithology Collection actively seeks to obtain specimens of birds (skins, skeletons, fluid-preserved, or fossil) to fulfill its goal of becoming representative of the past and present avifauna of New York State and adjacent regions.