Ornithology

Ornithological research at NYSM uses the collection of nearly 20,000 bird specimens as the basis for studies of the changing distributions of New York birds, and the evolution of bird species that live in New York. We study living birds in the field and use DNA sequence data from NYSM bird specimens to investigate patterns of bird speciation and extinction.  

 

News Articles

NYSM Bald Eagle
Published July 3, 2023 | Ornithology

Happy Fourth of July from the NYSM! This bald eagle, currently on display in Birds of New York Hall, is one of the oldest specimens from our collections and even pre-dates the discovery of the Cohoes Mastodon by sixteen years! The specimen, an adult male, was part of the personal collection of H...

DNA Research in Ornithology at the NYSM
Published December 12, 2022 | Ornithology

Museum specimens are important sources of DNA, used by researchers to discover the evolutionary relationships among species. NYSM zoology curators save small samples of muscle and other tissues from the specimens they prepare for our collections. The tissue samples from fish, bird, and mammal...

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