The UWZM bird collection contains the eggs of over 460 species of Wisconsin, U.S., New and Old World birds. Not all Wisconsin birds are represented. All eggs are historic;
since 1918 egg collecting has been illegal under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) in the United States. Our collection includes specimens donated by other museums, schools, and private collectors. The poster features a facsimile of an egg of the Great Auk, an extinct bird of North Atlantic rocky islands. The Great Auk mated for life and produced one egg per year, factors contributing to its extinction in the 1800s by sailors hunting it for food and wealthy collectors for skins and eggs. There are 75 Great Auk eggs known to exist today.
It is illegal to collect the eggs of wild birds.
44 x 65 inches
