Ferrantia, Volume 89: Les Collections Ornithologiques du Musée national d’Histoire Naturelle de Luxembourg [The Ornithological Collections of the National Museum of Natural History of Luxembourg]

About this book

Language: One contribution in French, two in German; all with trilingual summaries in English, French, and German

This volume contains the following three contributions:

La collection des oiseaux du Musée national d’histoire naturelle de Luxembourg (p. 9-192)
At the end of January 2022, the bird collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg contained 4091 specimens from 1516 species ranging in size from the small hummingbirds to the big ostrich. In former times private persons like Princess Hilda von Schwarzenberg, Emile Holub, Edouard Luja, Jules Saur and Hubert Linden donated specimens to the Museum. The Museum also bought many specimens: in 2003 a collection of the birds of the Palearctic Region, financed with the help of the “Amis du Musée”. The inventory of the bird collection started in 2016. The specimens were determined and afterwards included with all known information and a photo in the database Recorder of the Museum. The collection contains mainly mounted specimens, which are very useful for educational purposes like exhibitions. Bird skins represent only a very small percentage. They are very important for scientific studies like genetic analysis and comparisons of sub-species of birds. Many specimens have a historical value as they are from the 19th century: the little crake Zapornia parva from 1850 is the oldest specimen in the collection. Other species are actually critically endangered (Red List IUCN) like the slender-billed curlew Numenius tenuirostris, a species not seen in nature for the last 20 years. Some specimens have great scientific value, like the hazel grouse Bonasa bonasia from 1952 or the snowy owl Bubo scandiacus from 1857 (the only record of this species from Luxemburg). In conclusion, the Bird Collection of the Museum has great national significance: it is the biggest in the country and it has a huge historical, scientific and educational value. Therefore, it is very important to maintain this collection for future generations and to store it in the best conditions.

Die Eiersammlung des Marcel Hulten (p. 193-208)
Marcel Hulten was a Luxemburgish ornithologist of the 20th century. In 1960 and 1961 he published Die Vogelfauna Luxemburgs together with Victor Wassenich. After his death in 1973, his collections (eggs, skins, feathers, skulls) were given to the National Museum of Natural History. Marcel Hulten collected all the eggs between 1930 and 1968, mostly in Luxemburg. It was possible to identify 1322 eggs from 95 species. As Marcel Hulten wrote down when and where he found most of these eggs, we have exact information about the breeding period of many birds in Luxembourg during the 20th century. This data is important in order to study the effects of climate change on the timing of breeding for some bird species. Moreover, the collection contains eggs from the following rare birds in Luxembourg: Perdix perdix, Bonasa bonasia, Vanellus vanellus, Falco peregrinus, Lanius excubitor, Galerida cristata, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, Anthus pratensis, and Emberiza cirlus, which proves that these birds really bred in Luxembourg in former times. In conclusion, Marcel Hulten’s egg collection has a huge scientific value and it is therefore very important to maintain it for future generations and to store it in the best conditions.

Die Rupfungs-Sammlung des Museums (p. 209-223)
The Luxemburgish ornithologists Robert Neys and Marcel Hulten left their 174 feather sheets, gathered and mounted between 1954 and 1978, to the National Museum of Natural History. The collection contains feathers of 73 species, among these the following rare birds in Luxemburg: Accipiter gentilis, Caprimulgus europaeus, Vanellus vanellus, Perdix perdix, Asio flammeus, Lanius excubitor, Motacilla flava, and Emberiza calandra. As this collection has a huge scientific value it should be stored in the best conditions.

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