Hastings Museum of Natural and Cultural History

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Bird Habitat Dioramas and Serial Bird Collection

Passenger PigeonBird Habitat Dioramas include nine settings with geese, wetlands, cranes, eagles, woodpeckers, California condor, prairie, autumn and spring. The Serial Bird Collection displays over 200 resident and migratory birds seen in Nebraska and northern Kansas including passenger pigeons and an eskimo curlew.

This Passenger pigeon specimen was collected in Johnson County, NE. Their population was approximately 5 billion at the time of the discovery of America.

Did you know?

The largest serial collection of Nebraska birds on display is at the Hastings Museum.

Crane Diorama

A. M. (Albert) Brooking, primary supporter and founder of the Hastings Museum began collecting as a young boy. By 1926, Brooking had acquired a large number of objects. With the aid of Hastings citizens, he proposed the founding of a municipal museum in Hastings. The city council of Hastings approved the request and on January 10, 1927, the newly founded museum opened its doors to 300 excited visitors. Displays of natural and cultural history comprised of the objects from Brooking's collection, as well as the private collections of A. T. (Asa) Hill and Adam Breed, greeted curious eyes.

Today the museum houses many fine bird specimens which grew from Brooking's private collection. Long before the museum was founded, Brooking set a goal to compile a complete study collection of birds, including male and female specimens, examples of plumage, eggs and nests. As a self taught taxidermist, Brooking was able to mount the birds he collected but he also bought, sold and traded for other specimens in order to complete the collection.

As part of Brooking's efforts, he collected many Whooping and Sandhill cranes which are now on display at the Hastings Museum. The diorama in which the cranes are now displayed was painted by Iris Daugherty as part of the Works Project Administration (WPA) in 1938. Today, the life-like setting allows visitors to get an up-close look at the cranes before heading to the fields to see them in their traditional migratory layover along the Platte River.

Whooping cranes, once facing extinction, remain on the endangered species list, although the population is on the rise. Because of this, museum visitors frequently ask about the history of the Whooping crane in the diorama. The following is information on the acquisition of the Whooping cranes.

  • Two Whooping cranes collected near Grand Island, Nebraska in the spring of 1899. The Hastings Museum acquired the cranes in 1927.
  • Juvenile Whooping crane collected on the Platte River near Grand Island in October 1907. Hastings Museum acquired the crane in 1931.
  • One adult Whooping crane collected near Merriman, Nebraska, March 1929. The Hastings Museum acquired the crane in 1932.
  • One adult Whooping crane collected near Loup City, Nebraska, in April 1917. The Hastings Museum acquired the crane in October 1933.
  • One adult Whooping crane collected near Loup City, Nebraska, in April 1917. The Hastings Museum acquired the crane in October 1933.
  • One adult Whooping crane collected at Newark, Nebraska, in April 1914. The Hastings Museum acquired the crane in October 1934.
  • Three Whooping cranes obtained by the Hastings Museum in June 1942. All three were collected in Buffalo County, Nebraska. They were collected from 1901 through 1928.
  • One adult Whooping crane collected in Western Kansas. The Hastings Museum acquired the crane in 1943.

Did you know?

The Hastings Museum displays 10 whooping cranes, all mounted over 75 years ago, which is the largest display of its kind in the world!

Location: Upper Level