Collection contents
The majority of the ornithological collection consists of dry preserved specimens. It currently comprises around 76,000 bellows, 9,000 mounted birds, 8,000 skeletons, 14,000 feather bows and Germany's largest egg collection with around 60,000 eggs and clutches. A further 1,700 bird nests and several hundred specimens in alcohol are also part of the collection. Referenced partial samples of organ or tissue material are stored in the museum's biobank. The type specimens in the ornithological collection represent 322 scientific bird names.
Focal points
The geographical focus of the collection is on the Palaearctic, the Afrotropics and the Neotropics. Taxonomically, finches (Fringillidae), weavers (Ploceidae) and hummingbirds (Trochilidae) are very well represented. Of particular importance are local series of North Atlantic seabirds and of birds of prey and songbirds from central Germany from the early 20th century (Coll. A. Koenig and Coll. O. Kleinschmidt) as well as songbirds from the first half of the 19th century (Coll. C.L. Brehm).
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