Leonard C. Sanford Hall of North American Birds

Dates

• Existence: 1902 - present

Historical Note

Abstract:

Permanent exhibition. Opened 1902. Located on Floor 3, Section 1. The Leonard C. Sanford Hall of North American Birds at the American Museum of Natural History features dioramas of North American birds in different habitats from the Florida Everglades to Alaskan riverbeds, with forests, prairies, marshes, and deserts among the ecosystems represented (1). Preparation for the hall began in 1899 and was conceived and directed by ornithology curator Frank M. Chapman, who collected most of the specimens and made nearly all of the field studies (2, 1962, p. 31). Other dioramas were added between this time and a major renovation, under the direction of curator Dean Amadon (3, 1973/74, p.21), after which the hall reopened on June 9, 1964 (3, 1963/64, p. 49). Artists for the dioramas included W.B. Cox, Raymond deLucia, H.C. Denslow, Walter Esherich, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Charles J. Hittell, Bruce Horsfall, Francis Lee Jaques, Matthew Kalmenoff, Herbert Lang, J. Hobart Nichols, George Petersen, Stephen C. Quinn, Christopher Ray, Jeness Richardson, Carl Rungius, Fred Scherer, David J. Schwendeman, and Ernest W. Smith (4, 2006, p. 166-167; 2, 1911, p. 57; 2, 1931, p. 89). Museum Trustee Robert D. Sterling and his wife were major donors to the hall (3, 1970/71 p. 3).

Summary

The original Hall of North American Birds exhibited habitat groups and specimens arranged by classification. The habitat groups included Coot (Mud Hen) and Yellow-headed Blackbird, Cobb's Island Group, and Bird Rock Group, and sixteen groups in alcoves, which included Robin, Thrush, Vireo, Warbler, and Sparrow. Passenger pigeons were exhibited by the north entrance (2, 1904, p. 24-25). By 1911, habitat groups included Orizaba, Cobb's Island, Duck Hawk, Hackensack Meadow, Wild Turkey, Florida Great Heron, Water Turkey or "Snake-bird", Sandhill Crane, Brown Pelican, Snowy Heron or Egret, Turkey Vulture, California Condor, Brandt's Cormorant, San Joaquin Valley, Flamingo, Booby and Man-of-War, Florida Rookery, Golden's Eagle, Klamath Lake, Arctic Alpine Bird Life, Sage Grouse, Prairie Chicken, Grebe, Loon, and the first habitat group, Bird Rock (2, 1911, p, 57-64). By 1912, the hall consisted primarily of habitat groups (5, 1984, p. 31); in 1916 the Whistling Swan and Whooping Crane Groups were added, the Wild Goose Group in 1918, and the Bering Sea Group in 1931 (2, 1916, p. 83; 2, 1918, p. 75-77; 2, 1931, p. 94).

The hall was renovated as a part of the Museum's ten-year exhibit program to create and update halls from 1959-1969. Some groups were refurbished and others replaced with new ones. New dioramas added during the 1960-1964 renovation included Bald Eagle, Eastern Coastal Birds, Great Horned Owl, and Waterfowl of North America; Storks and Limpkins was added in 1974. Louis Agassiz Fuertes' background for the 1904 Flamingo Group found new life as a mural, and a new mural of the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits was added (4, 2006, p. 166-167; 2, 1962, p. 31-32).

Many of the birds represented in the Hall of North American Birds are endangered, threatened, or extinct, such as the extinct Labrador duck and the endangered California condor.

The hall also contains cases of owl and hawk specimens and busts of Frank M. Chapman and Leonard C. Sanford (4, 2006, p. 166-167; 6).

Outline:

• Habitat groups current as of 2017. For clarity, historic or previous names of the dioramas are seen in parentheses.
• American Egret (previously Snowy Heron or Egret)
• Anhinga or Snake-bird
• Bald Eagle
• Birds of the Rockies (previously Arctic-Alpine Bird-Life)
• Boobies and Frigatebirds
• Brandt's Cormorant
• California Condor
• Canada Goose (previously Wild Goose)
• Common Loon(s)
• Desert Birds
• Eastern Coastal Birds
• Eastern Marsh Birds (previously Hackensack Meadow)
• Golden Eagle
• Great Horned Owl
• Labrador Duck
• Peregrine Falcon (previously Duck Hawk)
• Sandhill Crane
• Upland Game Birds
• Wading Bird Rookery (previously Florida or Cuthbert Rookery)
• Waterfowl of North America
• Western Marsh Birds
• Whooping Crane
• Wild Turkey
• Wood Storks and Limpkins
• Wood Warblers (without painted background)

REFERENCES

(1) American Museum of Natural History, "Leonard C. Sanford Hall of North American Birds." American Museum of Natural History, accessed June 27, 2017, http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/permanent-exhibitions/birds-and-reptiles-and-amphibians-halls/leonard-c.-sanford-hall-of-north-american-birds.

(2) General Guide to the Exhibition Halls of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1904-1962.

(3) American Museum of Natural History. Annual Reports. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1963/64-1973/74.

(4) Quinn, Stephen C. Windows on Nature: The Great Habitat Dioramas of the American Museum of Natural History. New York: Abrams; New York: American Museum of Natural History, 2006.

(5) American Museum of Natural History. Official Guide to the American Museum of Natural History. New York: American Museum of Natural History, 1984.

(6) Leonard C. Sanford Hall of North American Birds. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. June 27, 2017.

Information for the hall appears in the following Museum publications:

American Museum of Natural History Annual Reports for years: 1915 (page 52); 1918 (page 53); 1929 (page 20, 123); 1958 (page 5); 1959 (page 4, 24); 1960 (page 63, 68); 1961 (page 4); 1962 (page 44, 57); 1963 (page 49); 1968 (page 10); 1970 (page 3); 1973 (page 21, 32); 1981 (page 46); 1983 (page 2); 1984 (page 59)

American Museum of Natural History General Guides for years: 1904 (Table of Contents, 24, 25); 1911 (Table of Contents, 55, 57); 1913 (Table of Contents, 64, 65); 1914 (page 71, 72); 1916 (page 75, 77); 1918 (Table of Contents, 67, 71); 1919 (page 69, 73); 1920 (page 69, 73); 1921 (Table of Contents, 69, 73); 1922 (Table of Contents, 69, 73); 1923 (Table of Contents, 69, 73); 1926 (page 38); 1927 (page 38); 1928 (Table of Contents, 71); 1929 (page 71); 1930 (Table of Contents, 71); 1931 (Table of Contents, 89); 1932 (Table of Contents, 89); 1933 (Table of Contents, 91); 1934 (Table of Contents, 93); 1935 (Table of Contents, 93); 1936 (Table of Contents, 93); 1939 (page 18, 88, 89); 1943 (page 18, 92, 93); 1945 (page 18, 92); 1947 (page 18, 92); 1949 (page 18, 92); 1953 (Floor plans, 121); 1962 (page 13); 1964 (page 13, 32)

The American Museum of Natural History: Pictorial Guide 1967.

American Museum of Natural History: An Introduction 1972, page 5, 7.

American Museum of Natural History Official Guides for years: 1984 (page 31); 1993 (page 27, 50); 2001 (page 54-55, 62)

Alternative Name Forms

Outline:

• Uncontrolled name from AMNH publications (dates of use by year)
• Birds of North America (1904, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1953)
• North American Bird Hall (1904, 1960)
• North American Birds (1904, 1939, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1983, 1993)
• Bird Life of North America (1911, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1913)
• Bird Groups (1911, 1913, 1914, 1916, 1918, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1928, 1930)
• Hall of Habitat Bird Groups (1915)
• Habitat Groups (1918, 1919, 1921, 1922, 1923)
• Groups of North American Birds (1926, 1927)
• Hall of Habitat Bird Groups of North America (1929)
• Hall of Habitat Groups of North American Birds (1929)
• Birds of North America (Habitat Groups) (1931, 1932, 1933)
• Birds of North America - Habitat Groups (1934, 1935, 1936)
• North American Bird Groups (1936)
• Hall of North American Bird Groups (1939, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1953)
• Gallery of North American Birds (1939, 1943)
• Chapman Hall (1958)
• Hall of North American Birds (1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1973, 1981, 1984, 1993)
• Chapman Hall of North American Birds (1959)
• Frank M. Chapman Memorial Hall of North American Birds (1963, 1967, 1984, 2001)
• North American Birds (Chapman Memorial) (1972)
• Sanford Hall of North American Birds (2012)

Places

• New York (N.Y.)
  • Note: AMNH: Floor 3, Section 1. North Wing, Section 308 indicated for 1904. Hall number 3-F indicated in 1953 General Guide.

Topics

• AMNH Permanent Exhibitions

Found in 1 Collection or Record: