Curatorial Upgrade and Computerization of the Cornell Ornithological Collection

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This grant supports improvements to and computerization of the Cornell University ornithology collection. Much of the importance of the collection lies in its age and sources and, therefore, its record of change in habitats, species distributions, particular morphologies and so on since the middle 1800s as well as its voucher record of celebrated ornithological research (270 graduate degrees since 1915). The collection of 45,600 specimens (36,800 skins, 4,000 skeletons, 1500 alcoholics, 2000 egg sets, 1000 mounts, 300 nests) is particularly strong in New York and North American species, with one of the best samples of hybrid zones in the Great Plains and Mexico. Part of the collection will be rehoused in new cabinets to alleviate crowding and aid conservation; the entire collection will be computerized using MUSE, a collection database package developed at Cornell with NSF support. These improvements will save the collection from a nearly orphaned status, and will make it much more accessible for research and education in the history of ornithology and the biology of birds.