Overview
Te Papa's collection of recent bird skeletons is an essential research resource for identifying bird bones found in archaeological and natural deposits (e.g. caves, swamps and sand dunes). Bones of recent birds have also proved invaluable for identifying Miocene (16-19 million year old) bird bones recovered from near St Bathans, Otago, and held in the Te Papa terrestrial vertebrate collection.
There are currently about 4750 skeletons of 329 living and recently extinct bird species and subspecies registered in Te Papa's bird skeleton collection. This number is growing rapidly with the addition of skeletons of birds found dead through natural causes or accidents.
Very few skeletons are articulated and mounted, as it is easier for researchers to examine, measure and compare bones if they are loose and separated.