Clarice Clark writes:

> I would like to know if you want non-native bird species such as "English
> Sparrows" or very common birds, such as House Finch. Anyone interested in
> non-native mammals, such as possums?


Yes. I am mapping the distibrution of mammals in the state and can
personally testify to the lack of opossum records. The museum record
database for introduced species and species undergoing rapid range
expansion lags well behind species expansion. Now, having said
that, I will also say that museums may chose to discard some
specimens. I picked up an Eastern Gray Squirrel in NE Seattle,
but there are numerous records of them from that township/range.
The Burke museum has a freezer full of Eastern Grays from Seattle.
BUT, not necessarily from all of the other locations where Eastern
Grays occur. Some museums also save unneeded specimens for their
teaching collections, so students can learn identification and
practtice skinning and mounting. But if the museum doesn't want
it, they can always toss it out.

Kelly