Museum organisers recently received 14 frozen specimens of seabirds, which died after becoming by-catch in New Zealand fisheries.
Among the birds were two Buller's albatrosses, two white-capped albatrosses and two Salvin's albatrosses, the latter two species not previously represented in the museum's collections, and the first with only a limited representation.
Three flesh-footed shearwaters, a species also not previously displayed at the museum, and five white-chinned petrels, with only limited representation, also arrived.
This is believed to be the biggest addition to the museum's seabird collection for many years.
The museum has applied to an Otago iwi liaison committee for support to add the specimens.
Museum natural science research and interpretation co-ordinator Lucy Rowe said the museum already had a large collection, but some seabird species were not included.
"It's great when we can fill those gaps," she said.
The museum made its selection from a list of seabird specimens provided by a Blenheim-based firm which is contracted to identify seabirds caught in New Zealand fisheries.
The birds were in varied condition, but hopefully some would be good enough for taxidermy, and others for retaining in skeleton form, organisers said.
Some specimens showed graphic signs of how they died, including fishhooks in their bills and hook damage to bodies.
They had been caught in trawls or by longlines in several places, including the subantarctic islands, the Chatham Rise, Banks Peninsula and the Coromandel.
