Towards the resolution of long-standing issues regarding birds collected during the Baudin expedition to Australia and Timor (1800–1804): specimens still present, and their importance to Australian ornithology

Abstract

Abstract This paper is a follow-up to Jansen 2014 and Jansen 2016b. There are 228 Australian bird specimens preserved in European museums today, collected in 1801–1803 during the expedition commanded by Nicolas Baudin to Australia and Timor. No less than 397 specimens accumulated during the Baudin expedition still survive. The Australian bird collection made during and preserved from the Baudin expedition was the most significant up to that time, though subsequently surpassed by the collecting activities of John Gilbert (1838–1845), John Gould (1838–1840) and Jules Verreaux (1842–1852). The Baudin Timor (Moluccas) collection is likewise notable in size, with 117 bird specimens still preserved; it was the first collecting executed by Westerners and subsequently brought back to Europe, later surpassed by the collecting activities of Salomon Müller (1828–1829), Alfred Wallace (1858–1861) and Heinrich Bernstein (1860–1864). In this article, I present data on Baudin specimens in Europe’s oldest museum collections. I also traced other birds collected in Australia from the second half of the 18th century and first decade of the 19th century. I furthermore comment on the possible sources of some material, whether the specimens are still in existence, and finally, the importance of the Baudin expedition for Australian ornithology.