Ghungroo 2023

Ghungroo performers smile and point at the audience.

Lowell Dorm

Lowell Exterior

Bird Brilliance: Exploring Harvard’s Ornithology Collection

Founded in 1859, Harvard’s Ornithology Collection has become the fifth-largest ornithological collection on Earth, boasting around 400,000 specimens and 8,300 species — over 85 percent of all known bird species.

octopus 2

The octopus lies suspended above a grand staircase in the spacious, modern, glassy foyer of Harvard’s Northwest Building, home to labs, classrooms, and offices for Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

octopus

“Having it at Northwest kind of gives it a second life,” Laborde says.

Jeremiah Trimble at Work

Harvard Ornithology Collection

Harvard’s Ornithology Collection has become the fifth-largest ornithological collection on Earth, boasting around 400,000 specimens and about 8,300 species.

Bird Photo Essay

Jeremiah Trimble

Jeremiah Trimble is a curatorial associate and the manager of the Harvard Ornithology Collection

octopus 3

Preservation of the octopus’ historic and artistic value, rather than precise scientific accuracy, guided the team’s effort.

Wilson's bird-of-paradise

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

king birds-of-paradise tail

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

king birds-of-paradise

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College

rhinoceros hornbill (full body)

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University; ©President and Fellows of Harvard College