The Moore Lab is the largest collection of Mexican birds in the world. Researchers visit the lab from all over to study the diversity of bird form and color for insight into avian evolution, ecology, and conservation.

The Moore Lab is especially rich in tanagers, family Thraupidae—one of the most colorful bird families on Earth. Our synoptic series of tanagers shows one of every species and is always a highlight of the tour.

With 6,968 specimens representing 88% of all species on Earth, the Moore Lab hummingbird collection is an unparalleled resource. From the smallest (the Bee Hummingbird of Cuba) to the largest (the Giant Hummingbird of Peru) and the weirdest (the Tooth-billed Hummingbird), Moore really made an effort to “collect ‘em all.”

It might surprise you, but only three species in the Moore Lab collection are extinct, due to human causes unrelated to specimen collecting. The Carolina Parakeet was the United States’ only native parrot and went extinct in 1918 due to habitat loss and shooting.

The study of eggs is called oölogy. Eggs come in many sizes, shapes, and colors—and have long interested biologists searching for an adaptive explanation behind this variation. The Moore Lab holds a modest scientific collection of nests and eggs.

The new Moore Lab lobby and meeting space is located in the newly completed Anderson Center for Environmental Sciences building. Jane Kim’s beautiful mural “Southern California from Sea to Sky” adorns the walls.

The new Moore Lab lobby features a map of Mexico and various species of the Los Angeles urban ecosystem as part of Jane Kim’s mural “Southern California from Sea to Sky.”

These parrot specimens were collected in Mexico from 1933-1955 and are now part of the the newly remodeled Robert T. Moore Bird and Mammal Collection.

Maeve Secor ’22 measures Yellow Grosbeaks in the newly remodeled Robert T. Moore Bird and Mammal Collection.

These colorful hummingbird specimens are part of the newly remodeled Robert T. Moore Bird and Mammal Collection.