
This article provides information on the inventory of ornithological specimens in collection funds stored in Uzbekistan (Ornithological collection of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ornithological collection of the National University of Uzbekistan, etc.).On the basis of the collections, the past and present distribution areas, the direction of distribution, and the factors causing changes in the ranges of european bee-eater-M. apiaster and blue-cheeked bee-eater-M. persicus, which belonged to the genus Merops.The analyzes made it possible to prove that there has now been a change in the distribution of these species.Based on the results obtained, the importance of collection materials in determining and assessing the current state of species was revealed.