Beyond the specimen: rethinking ornithological collecting in a changing world

Natural history collections underpin a wide range of ornithological research, yet the context in which they operate is rapidly changing. Advances in genomics, digitization and analytical approaches are transforming what can be learned from specimens, while accelerating environmental change is increasing the need for temporally explicit, integrative data. These developments necessitate a reassessment of how and why birds are collected. Ornithological collecting is increasingly shifting from the accumulation of specimens towards the generation of extended specimens: integrated resources that combine voucher material with samples and metadata that in turn help construct linkages with a wide range of third‐party data. The components of such future‐ready specimens and the research they enable are outlined, and we highlight the need for further research on how collecting and long‐term storage impact these research uses. We go on to describe the pathways through which museums might grow their collections along these lines. These developments have important implications for collecting practice. We argue that museums need to develop their collections in a way that captures contemporary change, including repeated sampling through time and enhanced molecular and environmental sampling. Salvage collecting and non‐lethal collecting are likely to play an increasingly important role in this respect, providing scalable and ethically robust pathways for acquiring material. Although there is a need for investment to support collecting institutions, there are options for museums to develop their collections through new programmes and partnerships that do not necessarily require significant new funding. We conclude by arguing that collecting remains essential but needs to be reconfigured to maximize long‐term scientific value in a rapidly changing world.