Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology
Encyclopedia
The Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology (WFVZ) is a charitable institution based in Camarillo, California
, USA.
It hosts a natural history
collection specializing in eggs
and nest
s of birds. The collection comprises ~190,000 sets of bird eggs representing approximately 4,000 species, including all orders of extant birds; ~20,000 nests; and 56,000 bird study skins from around the world. The Western Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, is both a natural history collection specializing in eggs and nests of birds from around the world, and a research and education institution dedicated to bird conservation. The Foundation's fundamental mission is to obtain, protect, and manage ornithological collections in a manner that ensures their accessibility to researchers, educators, students, and the public, and to ensure that the materials are used in projects that contribute to the conservation of the world's wild bird species.
The Western Foundation’s collections have contributed to multiple scientific fields (e.g., conservation, ecology, taxonomy, and toxicology). The Foundation’s egg sets have also figured prominently in studies of eggshell thinning due to contaminants (e.g., DDT and heavy metals).
It publishes a journal, the Proceedings of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.
Visitors can take guided tours of the collections on the last Friday of every month at 3pm, except in May, November, and December. There are also group tours.
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, USA.
It hosts a natural history
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
collection specializing in eggs
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
and nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s of birds. The collection comprises ~190,000 sets of bird eggs representing approximately 4,000 species, including all orders of extant birds; ~20,000 nests; and 56,000 bird study skins from around the world. The Western Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, is both a natural history collection specializing in eggs and nests of birds from around the world, and a research and education institution dedicated to bird conservation. The Foundation's fundamental mission is to obtain, protect, and manage ornithological collections in a manner that ensures their accessibility to researchers, educators, students, and the public, and to ensure that the materials are used in projects that contribute to the conservation of the world's wild bird species.
The Western Foundation’s collections have contributed to multiple scientific fields (e.g., conservation, ecology, taxonomy, and toxicology). The Foundation’s egg sets have also figured prominently in studies of eggshell thinning due to contaminants (e.g., DDT and heavy metals).
It publishes a journal, the Proceedings of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology.
Visitors can take guided tours of the collections on the last Friday of every month at 3pm, except in May, November, and December. There are also group tours.