When Franklin Pember collected three passenger pigeons for his museum
in the late 1800s, he probably didn’t realize the species would soon
go extinct.

He also might not have realized how important those samples would become.

Only 120 sets of passenger pigeon eggs are known to exist. The Pember
Museum is home to three such sets.

The museum also has three of only 1,500 full pigeon specimens in
museums throughout the world, one of which is on loan to the
Adirondack Museum.

<http://manchesternewspapers.com/2013/09/04/rare-specimens-help-pember-support-pigeon-project/>

-- 
Bob Sullivan
Schenectady Digital History Archive
<http://www.schenectadyhistory.org/>
Schenectady County (NY) Public Library