Acknowledgments


Several people have been of great help to picture skulls on these pages. Some have lent me skulls from their collections and others helped identifying specimens. A few have contributed by reading critically the first versions and laid their finger on mistakes and misinterpretations of the taxonomic confusion that surrounds several genera. Quite a number of people who had visited this site  have encouraged me to go on with this initiative with their helpful suggestions. 
Special thanks to Bernie Zonfrillo (Univ. of Glasgow) for his comments and making several skulls and pictures to my disposal. Bob McGowan (Birds Department, Royal Scottish Museum Edinburgh) for his hospitality and letting me take pictures from the collection of the Edinburgh museum, Tineke Prins and Cees Roselaar (Zool. Mus. Amsterdam), Kees Camphuysen (NIOZ; Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research) and Mardik Leopold (Imares Research Institute) for the Alcid specimens from the Tricolor oil spill and many other specimens. Jan Andries van Franeker, Jeroen Creuwels and Ruben Fijn (Imares Research Institute, Texel, Holland) made it possible to complete the whole line of fulmarine petrels from material they collected in the Antarctic. Joel Bried (Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Horta, Azores) for his help on Cory's Shearwaters. Mike Imber (Dept. of Cons. New Zealand) for identifying a  mystery Pterodroma. Jens Kjeld Jensen, Martin Heubeck and Dan Turner for sending me Razorbill and Guillemot heads of ringed birds. Michael Brooke (Univ. of Cambridge), Roberto Bao (Univ. La Coruņa, Spain), Jacob Gonzales Solis (Univ. of Barcelona, Spain), Pierre Ryan (Canadian Wildlife Service), Hannah Nevins (Oikonos), Marc van Leeuwen, Jennifer Lavers, Jens Kjeld Jensen (Faeroer), Steve Holiday and Tasha for providing me with some interesting specimens. Joost Pompert (The Falkland Island Fisheries Department) for his help in obtaining material from the Falklands. Peter Hodum (Oikonos) for his hospitality and help at Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile. Willem Beekhuizen for always keeping an eye open for seabird material and being great company while roaming Japanese beaches and for his advice. 
Eric Preston, Kees Camphuijsen, Jan Andries van Franeker and Lex van Groningen generously allowed me to use their beautiful seabird pictures.
And last but not least I owe a lot to Sjany, my wife, who has to tolerate the smells and other inconveniencies of my collecting and cleaning dead seabirds and still enjoys accompanying me searching tide lines and interesting seabird places.

Links to the websites of people, projects or institutions who have been of help:
 

  • National Museum of Scotland (Bob McGowan)
  • Zoological Museum Amsterdam (Tineke Prins, Cees Roselaar)
  • Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research Texel (Kees Camphuijsen)
  • Imares Research Institute Texel (Jan Andries van Franeker, Mardik Leopold, Jeroen Creuwels, Ruben Fijn)
  • Dutch Seabird Group
  • Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Azores (Joel Bried)
  • Save the Nort Sea Project (Jan Andries van Franeker)
  • Kees Camphuijsen
  • Jeroen Creuwels
  • Peter Hodum (Oikonos/Juan Fernandez Conservancy)
  • Eric Preston
  • Lex van Groningen (Lexsample)
  • Hans Bister


     

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