(class Aves)

There are around 34,320 individual specimens representing at least 2,932 species and subspecies, with type material for around 166 nominal species and subspecies. The collection consists largely of dried study skins, with a small selection of skins mounted for display.

Collections from various expeditions made between 1900 and 1940 to various parts of Southeast Asia (Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and various islands on the Sunda Shelf, as well as Christmas Island) form the greater part of the collection. These were transferred from the National Museum in the 1970s. There is also a small collection of birds with at least 1,090 species from various parts of the world, with specimens dating between 1880 and 1961. Recent specimens consist of dead birds donated by the public.

Noteworthy are specimens of birds collected in Singapore in the early 1900s that are believed to be locally extinct there, including the Diard’s trogon (Harpactes diardii) and brown barbet (Calorhamphus hayii); as well as recently recorded species, such as the openbill stork (Anastomus oscitans) which was first observed there in 2013.