Pelicans, Gannets and Cormorants
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of approximately 100 specimens of pelicans, gannets, cormorants and related species, and numerous eggs. These date from about 1850 to 1995.
This collection includes around 42 mounted specimens, 36 skins and nine skeletal preparations. The collection is mainly representative of British species – the gannet (Morus bassanus), the cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo), and the shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis). Altogether 10 species are represented in the collection. Most of the specimens are from Scotland, although there are also some from Ireland, Malawi, India, the Indian Ocean, Malaysia and the USA. There are about 250 eggs, including six of pelicans, 67 of gannets, 163 of cormorants and eight of Indian darters (snake birds). The eggs come from Scotland (especially Ailsa Craig and St Kilda), England, Jersey, Russia, Antarctica, Patagonia, Burma and India. The mounted specimens include a spectacular diorama of gannets by the Glasgow taxidermist Charles Kirk. There are also two blue-eyed shag eggs collected on Dr William Spiers Bruce’s Scottish Antarctic Exhibition of 1902–1904.
About pelicans, gannets, and cormorants
Pelicans, gannets, cormorants, shags, tropic birds and frigate birds are all members of the order Pelecaniformes, of which there are 50–60 species found worldwide. They are medium to large-sized waterbirds that have four webbed toes and have a bare throat patch. - Broader term
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