Autumn conference in London will seek to establish what lessons can be learned from avian specimens

Skins in a museum - rich repositories of data? (photo: Trustees of Natural History Museum, London)

    

THERE are thought to be many hundreds of thousands, maybe millions,  of avian specimens in museums and private collections all over the world.

Whether stuffed birds, skins, eggs or just single feathers, do they carry any real scientific value?

The subject will be explored at a conference to be held at London's Natural History Museum on November 18 this year.

The event is being organised by the British Ornithologists' Union which states: "Each specimen is a rich repository of data about the individual  and the environment it experienced while it was alive. 

"Many of these environments no longer exist, making museum specimens unique and irreplaceable archives of a changing world. 

"How are researchers unlocking these data, and what exciting questions are they using them to answer?"

The statement continues: "This is not, however, just about the past. 

"We also need to think about what avian material we might want to collect now and into the future, so we can track the impacts of future environmental changes on wild birds. 

"We need to help shape the museums of the future.

"Ultimately collections past, present and future are made to facilitate research on wild birds in a changing world. 

"To unlock existing collections and plan future ones, therefore, we need to understand better the art of the possible. 

"In other words, what are the current and future directions in collections-based ornithological research, and how do we unlock collections and plan future collecting to support these?

"Addressing this question will be the primary aim of the conference. 

"We will bring together researchers to explore the frontiers of collections-based ornithological research, including innovative approaches being developed to unlock the data in collections and exciting new directions in environmental change research. 

"The conference will also include a discussion session on the future of ornithological collecting -  what should we be collecting and why, and how do we support collections to ensure they are both safe and accessible to the research community now and into the future?"  

* More details from: https://bou.org.uk/

                                                        

What can they teach us? This mounted pair of Shorelarks is set to go under the hammer at an auction in Leyburn, North Yorkshire on April 16 . Photo: Tennants of Leyburn