The WFVZ houses more than 8,000 volumes of books and monographs on birds and natural history, and more than 400 bird and natural history journal serials (see our Library Journal List). The fieldnotes archive contains field notes, collecting logs, banding records, and unpublished manuscripts from more than 130 ornithologists, 9 institutions, and several large-scaled projects (see the Collectors List). Researchers with questions about the materials should contact us for more information.
We provide photocopies or scans of articles from our journal serials and of chapters from books for researchers. Reimbursements for scans and copies at $0.05 per page, and mailing expenses, are expected. For members of the Cooper Ornithological Society, 25 photocopied/scanned pages are provided for free per year; above this, reimbursement is requested at the $0.05 per page rate.
The WFVZ holds and maintains the records of the California Bird Records Committee (CBRC), a subcommittee of the professional society, Western Field Ornithologists. This committee is responsible for deciding what birds occur in California, and thus make it onto our state list. They also help increase knowledge of the birds of California and establish standards of observation and reporting against which field observers may compare their own techniques. To request photocopies of CBRC materials, please contact the WFVZ or visit the CBRC website http://californiabirds.org
The WFVZ published its own journal serials until 2010: Proceedings, Occasional Papers, and Monographs of the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology. In addition, we have published various regional checklists of birds, one hardcover book on the Puerto Rican Parrot, and the proceedings of an international conference on shrikes (37 publications in all!). See the WFVZ Publications Pricelist for a PDF of our titles, or visit our Gift Store to order copies.
The Western Foundation also offers duplicate bird books from our library for sale (see Duplicate Bird Book List pdf). Please contact us directly to check the availability of these titles before you make a purchase.
As of 2008, the WFVZ no longer processes orders for Studies in Avian Biology, but we do process orders for back issues of the Condor (prior to the most recent 2 years). Call (805/388-9944) or e-mail the WFVZ at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for information on particular issues.
