Alexander Wetmore - Photo Album, Panama and Coiba Island, 1956

Did you know that the largest island in Central America, Coiba Island, is largely undeveloped? For many years it was used as a prison colony, and was left mostly untouched--making it a good place for scientists like Alexander Wetmore to study wildlife and endemic species. Ornithologist and former Smithsonian Secretary Wetmore traveled to Coiba Island to collect bird specimens as part of a 1956 research trip to Panama. Wetmore traveled to the Canal Zone Biological Area (now the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute) yearly to study birds for what would become his book, "Birds of the Republic of Panama." Explore Coiba Island with Wetmore and help transcribe the image captions from this album!