|
 The study of Costa Rican birds began with the collaboration of researches such as A. V. Frantzis, G. N. Lawrence, J. C. Zeledón, G. K. Cherrie, J. J. Cooper, Carriker, R. Ridway, A. Alfaro, C. T. Underwood and others.
With the creation of the National Museum, the important collection of J. C. Zeledón became a part of the institution’s collection. From the eighties decade in the XIX century until the thirties decade in the XX century, the bird collection became and important center of the American tropic ornithology (Stiles, 1983).
Later on, with the dawn of this generation of researchers, the ornithological collection was virtually abandoned and went under the custody of University of Costa Rica (1940-1953), a time that has been characterized for its inadequate handling.
The seventies decade was characterized for the revival of the National Museum. In the last quarter of the century, the museum became the study center of Natural History in the country. The biologists Julio E. Sánchez and Daniel Hernández began the rescue of the bird collection in 1983. The collection was moved from the carpentry warehouses to the proper rooms.
It is an active collection, conformed by approximately 10.000 samples: 8.062 skins, 885 skeletons, 480 sets of eggs and 306 nests. These specimens are placed in ornithological cabinets with controlled temperature and humidity, organized taxonomically.
The skin collection holds about 78 to 80% (662) of the country’s species. The oldest skin belongs to a thrush specimen, Hylocichla mustelina, from 1847. It was collected in Pennsylvania, United States, and is the result of the exchange with other collections.
The skeleton collection represents about 343 species (40% of the bird fauna of the country). The oldest skeleton belongs to a yellow-throated finch, Atlapetes albinucha, from Palo Verde in Cartago.
There are 146 species represented in the nests collection, 17% of the Costa Rican bird fauna. The best represented families in the nests are the seeders (Emberizidae) and the fliers (Tyrannidae).
The sets of eggs represent about 21% of the country’s species (175). The best represented families are the herons (Ardeidae), the seeders (Emberizidae) and the fliers (Tyrannidae). The collection has sets that are not described at all or for the country, such as the fine-beaked finch, Acanthidops bairidii, described in a “Brenesia” Natural History magazine issue.
|
