Hummingbird

This type of taxidermy is the typical way to preserve specimens in a scientific bird collection. They are not of primary interest for their display value, but rather for the ease of handling, space-saving storage and general accessibility of all the essential taxonomic features. Unfortunately, hardly anything is known about this small collection of hummingbirds. There is no entry in the inventory log to date.

The box is still in its original condition and bears an inscription in pencil signed by the taxidermist responsible, Wilhelm Böhler, on the bottom. It is a gift to the museum by the director of the museum at the time, Prof. Konrad Guenther. The hummingbirds obviously came from his private collection. The box bears an inscription in ink on one of the sides, probably written by Guenther himself. The number shown is possibly Guenther's own inventory number or a reference to a species number from a published classification of birds. "Col. 17" most likely refers to Guenther's collection. Inside the box, one of the birds has been tagged with a label. The numbers written here could refer to the date of the find.