The ornithological collection of the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, which is with approximately 200,000 objects the largest of its kind in Germany, comprises a substantial number of historical specimens. It was established in 1810 as constituent of the Berlin University, but as written records reveal, there are more than 200 objects that can even be dated prior to the year 1800. From this period, when taxidermy techniques differed greatly from those used later in the nineteenth century, only 1500 to 3000 examples remain in existence worldwide. Thirty-three of the historical bird specimens in Berlin originated from the Kunstkammer, the collection of the Brandenburg electors and Prussian kings. According to archival records, these specimens entered the royal collection in the decades preceding its transfer to the newly founded university in 1810. However, it remains unclear from which private collections the bird specimens originated. This paper uses computer tomographic images to identify groups based on the taxidermy methods, such as the wiring inside the birds’ bodies. It asks whether these distinguishable techniques could be used to allocate the pieces to different private collections. Thus, the paper attempts to shed light on the complex history behind the provenance statement “Royal Kunstkammer” in the museum’s catalogues.