title: The Avian Collection of the Zoological Museum of the University of Athens (ZMUA).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Zoological Museum of the University of Athens (ZMUA) was established in 1858. It is the oldest natural history museum of Greece. The museum began its operation with the acquisition of a core collection and has been expanding ever since. One of the most substantial parts of the museum's collection consists of the avian exhibits, originating from around the world.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Today, the avian collection consists of 2,948 specimens, preserved mostly through taxidermy, along with a significant number of eggs. The birds have been collected from around the world. A substantial part of the collection consists of individuals originating from Greece, Brazil, Canada and Australia. Having this valuable source of biogeographic information and a potential reserve of historical genetic diversity, ZMUA presents here the contents of the avian collection.
authors.affiliation: Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Heraklion, Crete, Greece.
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papastefanou
authors.affiliation: Zoological Museum of the University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Anastasios
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Legakis
authors.affiliation: Zoological Museum of the University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shogolev
keywords:  Aves ; LifeWatchGreece; occurrence data; zoological collection