Auteri Collection

Baron Michele Auteri was a collector and naturalist from Catania who was born in the mid-19th century, who was also a great expert of ornithological matters. His passion, which he most likely cultivated throughout all of his life, led him to purchase and search for rare specimens of naturalistic interest throughout Europe.

His collection, donated in 1923 to the University of Catania by her granddaughter Angelina Auteri, and now housed in the Zoology museum, consists of 946 specimens belonging mostly to exotic species from Latin America, Oceania, Africa and, to a lesser extent, from the Palearctic region.

The collection includes 217 specimens belonging to the Trochilidae family (Hummingbirds), which make up the richest Italian collection of these tiny birds.

The Auteri collection currently also includes 8 precious glass "bells" (of the original 11 resulting from the deed of donation) with inside stuffed birds attributable to the taxidermy of the "Victorian" period of the mid-nineteenth century. These bells are currently on display on the first floor of the Museum.