The Museum of Southwestern Biology's Division of Birds maintains an extensive research collection of birds from all over the world. The largest holdings are from the American Southwest and Peru. The division has excellent representation of the orders and families of the birds of the world. It holds a synoptic collection comprising an overview of the bird diversity of New Mexico, the 3rd most diverse state in the USA. It also contains historic specimens of threatened, endangered and extinct species of North America. All except the most recent research specimens are searchable using ARCTOS.

Contact the the Collection Manager (Andy Johnson, ajohnson 'at' unm.edu) or Curator (Chris Witt, cwitt 'at' unm.edu) for more information, loan requests, or to arrange a date and time for using the collection. The Division of Birds is open by appointment only.

Undergraduate and graduate students affiliated with the UNM Department of Biology are invited to conduct research in the Bird Division by coordinating with faculty-curator, Chris Witt.

MSB Bird Division personnel are dedicated to discovery through integrated scientific research and teaching. Check out our latest peer-reviewed publications, join our mailing list to receive newsletters, or click here to find out how you can contribute.