. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. James W. Wiley et al. 21 Bull. 2008 128(1) to the new institutions for display. Most recent collections have concentrated on acquiring native species. All species of special concern with Cuban ranges (residents and visitors) are represent- ed in the island's collections, including two species (Passenger Pigeon Edopistes migratorius, Cuban Macaw Ara tricolor) that have become extinct recently (Table 3). Among species rep- resented, four are considered Critically Endangered (Adams et al. 2003, Gonzalez Alonso 2002), 12 are Endangered and 23
. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. James W. Wiley et al. 21 Bull. 2008 128(1) to the new institutions for display. Most recent collections have concentrated on acquiring native species. All species of special concern with Cuban ranges (residents and visitors) are represent- ed in the island's collections, including two species (Passenger Pigeon Edopistes migratorius, Cuban Macaw Ara tricolor) that have become extinct recently (Table 3). Among species rep- resented, four are considered Critically Endangered (Adams et al. 2003, Gonzalez Alonso 2002), 12 are Endangered and 23 are Vulnerable (Table 3). Our evaluation of specimen condition yielded an overall of specimens in Good condition, whereas were judged in Fair and in Poor condition. Unfortunately, a substantial number of specimens in most collections lack critical data, with a mean of specimens lacking locality data, missing collection dates, and lacking name of the collector. Discussion Natural history museums, including their research collections, have been characterised as functional biological libraries, but without easy access for researchers, they only serve as storehouses for specimens (Winker 1996, Peterson et al. 2005). Several workers have empha- sised the importance of user-friendly access to collections (Reaka-Kudla et al. 1997, Krishtalka & Humphrey 2000). Scientific museums are starting to be considered an impor- tant tool for cataloguing biodiversity (Beolchini 2002), so their role in providing easy access to specimen data has greatly increased (Alberch 1993, Cooper & Steinheimer 2003, Peterson et al. 2005, Watkins & Donnelly 2005). Storing scientific catalogues in electronic archives, remotely accessible through electronic websites, is valuable in making distant (particularly m i m m 3. 1308 â 1950 1970 Period Figure 1. Number of bird specimens in 18 Cuban collections by period of collection, 1840-2003. The period 1840-89 includes
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