Birds
Birds are the only surviving dinosaurs. In the exhibition, you meet a wide range of taxidermy birds – from the majestic golden eagle to the goldcrest, Norway's smallest bird – and learn how researchers classify birds and track migratory birds' routes across the globe.
What can you see in the exhibition?
In the bird exhibition, you can see:
- Golden eagle and other birds of prey
- Peafowl and other spectacular species
- Hummingbird and the goldcrest, Norway's smallest bird
- The egg collection that exposed the pollutant DDT
- An electronic world map showing migratory birds' routes
Flying dinosaurs in every variety
Much of what makes a bird a bird first emerged in the small predatory dinosaurs that became the ancestors of birds. Ornithologists, researchers who specialize in birds, agree on where birds belong on the tree of life: they are the only surviving dinosaurs. Feathers evolved from reptilian scales, and birds are the only living creatures with feathers.
Today, around 10,000 bird species have been recorded worldwide. Here you will see a wide range in taxidermy form, from the majestic golden eagle and the flamboyant peafowl to lightweights such as the hummingbird and the goldcrest, which, despite its name, is Norway's smallest bird. You will learn how researchers classify birds, and how a bird's morphology, its outward form, is adapted to its particular habitat.
Why researchers study birds
The reason so many researchers become hooked on birds is that birds, unlike many other animals, are active during the day. This makes them easier to observe and study. Studies of birds have made many important contributions to zoology, the branch of natural science concerned with animals and their lives.
On a large electronic world map, you can follow the main routes of migratory birds and see how researchers gather knowledge about these annual journeys. Did you know that the bluethroat readily flies all the way to India or Pakistan in autumn? And that a great snipe can fly from Norway to Ethiopia without stopping to rest?
Eggs that exposed a pollutant
The collection also includes bird eggs. They come in countless colours, shapes and sizes, but strictly speaking serve the same function: they are the chick's 'survival kit'. The hard shell and nutrient-rich contents protect and nourish the developing embryo.
Museum egg collections have played an important role in research on environmental pollutants. In the 1960s, British researchers discovered that the shells of peregrine falcon eggs were cracking more and more often before the chick had finished developing. Analyses of dated eggshells from various collections showed that the shells had grown steadily thinner since the 1940s, when the pollutant DDT came into widespread use as an insecticide. DDT is banned today.