The Academy maintains an ornithological collection of over 215,000 study skins and 25,000 tissue samples. Specimens of historical importance in the collection predate the founding of the Academy in 1812 and include important early bird collections made by famous collectors such as Alexander Wilson, John Cassin, and John Gould. The collection also contains large recently added series of data rich specimens from North America, South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The Academy’s ornithology department is actively adding specimens, locally and internationally, at a rate of ~1500 specimens per year.

Major series of birds in the collection come from South America (~60,000 skins), North America (~55,000 skins), Asia (~25,000 skins), and Africa (~20,000 skins), with additional significant holdings from Central America and Australia. The collection also contains an extensive series of types (~2000 specimens) and skins of extinct and endangered species (~2500 specimens). The collection has significant holdings from around the world, including one of the most extensive series of Andean birds.

GBIF url: https://www.gbif.org/dataset/8658262c-f762-11e1-a439-00145eb45e9a
Citation: Rice N (2026). Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia Ornithology Collection. Academy of Natural Sciences. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/d5tdxh accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-08-07.