The development of ornithology in Mexico and the importance of access to scientific information

Abstract

Mexican ornithology has seen a curious trajectory, beginning with remarkably well documented indigenous knowledge, progressing to colonial expeditions and intensive nineteenth-century exploration. The baton passed to collectors and scientists from the United States of America around the beginning of the twentieth century, and most recently to Mexican scientists. The documentation of Mexican bird diversity grew in each of these phases, but has now become a Mexican enterprise, thanks to the combined availability of information (both from within the country and that “repatriated” from around the world) and funding (provided in largest part by the Mexican government). This evolutionary process of a science community is perhaps general and global, but with different phases emphasized in different countries, and at diverse points in the process.