Te Papa houses the world’s greatest collection of New Zealand birds, numbering over 70,000 specimens. Highlights from this collection include many irreplaceable specimens of extinct New Zealand birds and one of the world’s largest collections of oceanic birds.
The main focus of the collection is on New Zealand species. New Zealand’s land and freshwater bird fauna is comprised of just over 200 species, many of which are recent introductions or vagrants - birds that have strayed from their usual range.
However, because New Zealand has long coasts that lie across the Roaring Forties and a large Exclusive Economic Zone, almost all southern seabirds, and many from the northern hemisphere, reach the New Zealand region.
The collection is particularly strong in albatrosses (over 1100 specimens), petrels (7000 specimens), penguins, shags, gulls, and terns (over 1500 specimens of each), waterfowl (over 13,000 specimens), and flightless ground birds (moa, kiwi, and rails - over 6000 specimens).
Specimens take a number of forms. There are many hundred exhibition mounts. There are also 25,000 feathered bird skins, spread wings, eggs, and nests. The largest single collection is of 45,000 disarticulated skeletons of living and extinct birds. There are also several thousand whole bird and stomach contents stored in 70% ethanol.
If you wish to view the collection for research purposes, please call Te Papa to make an appointment. The collection is located at 169 Tory Street, Wellington.