Kestrel bird skin
There are about 10 subspecies of the kestrel, 'Falco tinnunculus' in Europe, Asia and Africa. The example shown here is of the sub-species 'Archeri' found on Socotra, an island off East Africa. Individuals may differ sufficiently to be members of different sub-species, but not enough to fit into a completely separate species. DNA analysis can be used to distinguish between the subspecies of birds. This specimen was collected during the last official collecting expedition to be organised by Liverpool Museum (as World Museum Liverpool was formerly known), in 1898.
