Interesting old specimens of rare birds found in Slovenia in the collection of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, Graz, Austria

Abstract

The Universalmuseum Joanneum (UMJ) was founded as Landesmuseum Joanneum in 1811 by the Estates of Styria and named in the honour of Archduke Johann (Feldner 2015). The initial collection was mainly based on specimens presented to the museum by the Archduke himself and later expanded by purchases and donations. The addition of Count Egger's collection in 1815 was particularly important. Although a formal treatise is missing, contemporary sources describe it as containing most Inner Austrian species, as well as specimens from Carniola collected by Hacquet and Scopoli (Anonymus 1815). The zoological section was initially the smallest in the museum, but rose in prominence after assuming teaching roles for the local lyceum and the University of Graz (Karl-FranzensUniversität). The collection was systematized in 1830 and further expanded by a donation of about 1000 European specimens by Josef Höpfner in 1839 (Göth 1861, Feldner et al. 2006, Feldner 2015). A donation by Emperor Ferdinand a year later and the purchase of around 500 eggs belonging to about 300 species were two more important additions to the ornithological collection. After the merging of UMJ's and the University's collection in 1863, few ornithological specimens were added until the appointment of August Mojsisovics von Mojsvár as curator in 1889, who procured some important additions, notably the collections (or parts thereof) of Pater Blasius Hanf and Count Carl von Attems-Petzenstein as well as Othmar and Ernst Reiser, whose collection contained specimens from what is now Slovenia. The latter are also the only collectors known to have consistently supplied specimens from Slovenia to the UMJ. In 1899, the entire collection was inventarized, catalogized and a unified nomenclature system was drawn up to avoid inconsistencies in the catalogue. After the death of August Mojsisovics von Mojsvár in 1897 the number of additional specimens decreased rapidly as well as the regularity of the formerly annually published reports of the UMJ. The latter was mainly justified by the beginning of World War I. The last report in the 20th century was published in 1929 to be continued as late as 2003 (Feldner 2015). As of 2003 the collection contained 1756 skins of 700 species, 150 skeletons of 60 species, 350 egg sets and 100 nests (Roselaar 2003). It grows by approximately 20 specimens annually, mainly from local birds. In summer 2014, I visited the UMJ on a number of occasions to check several specimens and skins referred to in the Styrian literature. This work was part of a project, which led to the publication of Avifauna Steiermark in 2015 (Albegger et al. 2015). After several visits to the UMJ, on a few occasions in the company of my colleagues Sebastian Zinko and Michael Tiefenbach, I noticed a reasonable number of specimens of Slovenian origin. I decided to photograph and collect these records to supplement the knowledge of the occurrence of rare birds in Slovenia, summarized by Hanžel & Šere (2011). I checked the eight inventory books of the UMJ, which meant controlling all inscriptions for a period of 204 years from the opening of the UMJ. Specimens that are no longer in the collection are nevertheless mentioned in the summary, even though their identification cannot be proven. The list includes rare species, as defined by Hanžel & Šere (2011) and Hanžel (2014), as well as some considered interesting in the sense of their historic or regional distribution. The toponyms are cited directly from the inventory book. The toponyms were translated into Slovene using Cannoni & Jerko (2014). Some specimens are not exactly dated. If possible, an estimate of the supposed time of its origin is given. The estimate was based on other dated specimens, sometimes even collected by the same person, listed adjacent to the undated specimen in the inventory book. Where the person, who transferred the specimen as a gift to the UMJ or from whom the UMJ bought the specimen, is not mentioned, this information was not given in the inventory books. A reference is added to the specimens that were unequivocally mentioned in subsequent published works.