2020 Volume 69 Issue 2 Pages 209-221
Bird specimens previously stored in the Tokyo Imperial Household Museum (TIHM) were collected by two National Museums in the Meiji (1868–1912) and Taisho (1912–1926) periods. The collection, now stored at the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (YIO) cannot be effectively used for research, because the specimen data is unclear. Our aim was to restore the collection data for the specimens. This study was conducted to investigate the collection's history, targeting specimens among the TIHM collection that were derived from the Australian Museum. We discovered, from lists of specimens sent by the Australian Museum, that specimens reached the YIO from two sources. Of the total of 329 bird specimens sent from the Australian Museum, 195 were donated in 1888 to the Tokyo Educational Museum, and 134 were donated in 1893 to the Imperial Museum. In this study we confirmed that 326 (99.1%) of the 329 specimens donated by the Australian Museum in 1888 and 1893 are held by YIO. We will restore collection data using documents discovered during this study enabling us to enhance the scientific value of a large Australian bird specimen collection in Japan.
