Oological collections and egg collectors of Brazilian birds: an overview

Abstract

Egg collections have been poorly studied and cataloged both in Brazil and overseas. In Brazil, there is a lack of both historical and current tradition of establishing and curating egg collections. This paper provides information about the size of collections, collecting dates, major collectors, geographic locations, and institutions holding egg sets of Brazilian birds. Through this effort, we recovered part of the history of Brazilian ornithology and provide general directions for those interested in studying egg sets deposited in scientific collections. We retrieved information from 5,888 egg sets collected in Brazil between 1818-2022, currently deposited at 45 institutions/museums. The four largest egg collections in Brazil are at MZUSP, MN, COMB and MPEG. However, around half of the egg sets are deposited in institutions from Europe (mainly at MLUH and ZMB in Germany, NMW in Austria, NHM in the UK, and CRRM in Romania) and the USA (mainly at the WFVZ). Most egg sets were collected between the 1890s and 1930s, and after 2010. In Brazil, 70% of the egg sets were collected in five Brazilian states (MG, SP, SC, PA, and RS). Overall, egg collecting was uneven in space and time. We traced ~330 egg collectors, but most egg sets were collected by José Caetano Guimarães Sobrinho, while Caio Guimarães Chagas was probably the greatest collection owner in Brazil. A recent increase in egg collecting shows a renewed interest in assembling this type of bird vouchers. A scientifically sustained, planned and ethical collection of eggs should continue in Brazil since the breeding biology of many species is still poorly known, and since egg sets are important to provide data for new studies on the ecology, evolution, and conservation of Brazilian birds.