Section I.: Cleaning Feathers.—If a bird is bloody, the feathers may be washed either in turpentine or water. Saturate a rag or piece of cotton, and clean off the blood, which if dry may require some soaking. Try to keep the water from spreading as much as possible, but be sure that every particle of clotted blood is removed and the spot washed thoroughly. Then dry by covering the spot well with either plaster or dermal preservative, the latter being preferable as it never bleaches the plumage. This should be worked well into the feathers with a soft brush, aided by the fingers, applying a fresh supply constantly until all the moisture is absorbed; then dust with a soft duster. In case of grease-spots, if fresh, use the dermal preservative alone, but if old and yellow use benzine to start the grease, and then dry with preservative, when it will generally be found that all stains will be removed; but in some cases two or three applications of benzine may be necessary. Small spots of dried blood may often be removed from dark feathers by simply scraping with the thumb-nail, aided by a moderately stiff brush, much after the manner in which a living bird removes foreign substances from its plumage. Do not leave clotted spots of blood in the plumage, as the feathers never lie well over them, and such places are liable to be attacked by insects, and even a spot of blood under the wing should, in my opinion, always be removed. Before any attempt is made either to make a bird into a skin or mount it, it should be thoroughly cleansed. Stains of dirt may be removed with alcohol, which dries more readily than water, but it will not start blood as well as turpentine or water.

Section II.: Making Skins of Small Birds.—The instruments for skin-making are a flat brush, a duster for cleansing, three or four pairs of tweezers of varying sizes (see Fig. 8), needles, curved or straight as preferred, silk thread for sewing, and soft cotton for winding, and metal forms made of rolled tin or zinc (Fig. 9). Lay the skin on its back, and push the single bones left on the forearm into the skin, then fasten them by taking a stitch through the skin near the base of the wing; then, passing the thread around the bone, tie it firmly. Now with the same thread, uncut, sew the other bone in a similar manner, leaving the two connected by a piece of thread which is about as long as the natural width of the body of the bird, thus the wings are kept the same distance apart as they were formerly. Now take a piece of cotton and form it into a rough body as near as possible in size to the one removed, but having a tapering neck of about the length of nature. Now grasp this firmly in the tweezers, and place it, neck foremost, in the skin, taking care that the point of the tweezers enters the brain cavity of the skull, so that the cotton may fill it, and projecting downward, form the throat; now allow the tweezers to open, and slip them out. Open the eyelids, arranging them neatly over the rounded cotton beneath. See that the bones of the wing lie along the sides, as they are liable to become pushed forward in putting in the cotton. This can be remedied by raising the cotton gently. If the cotton body has been placed in the proper position the neck will be full, but not over stuffed, and of just the right length to form a skin that has the appearance and size of a freshly-killed bird lying on its back with the head straight. The bill should be horizontal with the bench on which the bird lies, and from which the specimen should not be raised while at work on it. Now roll the skin over and examine the back; see that the wing feathers, especially the scapularies, lie in regular rotation, and that they have not been pushed one above the other; and the same attention should be given to the tail. Note if the feathers of the back lie neatly over the scapularies, and these in turn, should be over the wing-coverts; in short, all should blend neatly, forming a smoothly rounded back. Now place the skin, back down, in the form, lifting, by placing the thumb and forefinger on either side of the shoulders, which is the proper way to handle a small skin, even when dry. In placing the skin in the form, care should be used that the cotton does not slip out of the skull, causing the head to fall down. See if the tip of the wings are of equal length; if not make them so by drawing one wing downward, and pushing the other up toward the head, but do not pull them out of place at the shoulders. Be careful that the wings are placed high enough on the back. This is easily ascertained, if the closed tips of the primaries lie perfectly flat on the bottom of the form with their inner edges nearly downward. Now smooth the feathers with a pair of tweezers, placing the feathers of the sides that come below the sparrow’s wing inside the wing; above this they will lie outside. Always bear in mind that although a skin can be made perfectly smooth by an expert in from eight to fifteen minutes, one who is not accustomed to the work will be obliged to occupy a much longer time, as a skin cannot be made too smooth. Arrange all spots and lines on the feathers as they occur in life, especially about the head or on the back; in fact, too much attention cannot be given to these details, before and after a skin is placed in the form, if one wishes to turn out a first-class specimen.

Now bind the skin with soft cotton thread, used on bobbins in the mills, beginning at the lower portions of the wings, and winding the thread over the body and under the form, so that the threads lie about a quarter of an inch apart, ending with the throat. Now arrange all the feathers which may have become disarranged under the threads, and place the skin away to dry where there is no draft, for a slight breeze will be sure to blow some of the feathers out of place. (For the form of a skin, see Fig. 10.)

Another method of making skins which may be practised to advantage is as follows: After the skin is ready to place in the form, wrap it closely in a very thin layer of nice cotton batting, taking care that the feathers lie perfectly smooth, although these may be partially arranged through the cotton, which must be thin enough for the feathers to be seen through it. The skin is then laid aside to dry without placing in the form.

Skins should not be exposed to too great artificial heat, neither should they be left to dry during damp weather in a room without a fire. Small birds, like warblers, will set perfectly hard in forty-eight hours in a moderate temperature with dry air. Never allow a skin to freeze.

Section III.: Making Skins of Long-necked Birds.—Sandpipers, thin-necked woodpeckers, or any birds, the necks of which are liable to become broken, should have a wire placed in the neck to support and strengthen it. Proceed in sewing the wing-bones as directed in small skins; then make a body of cotton around the end of a wire that has about an inch of the end bent into the form of a hook, and then the body may be wrapped about the wire with some of the winding cotton. The neck-wire should project from the body for about the same length as the natural neck, or a little more. This neck-wire should also be wrapped with cotton to the size of the natural neck, but rather thicker where it joins the body. A small portion of this wire which has been sharpened, as hereafter to be directed, should project beyond the body. Now place the body in position inside of the skin, forcing the point of the wire into the skull, up into the base of the upper mandible as far as it will go. The heads of long-billed birds may be turned on one side, but in this case the bill will be placed to a greater or less angle. Sew up specimen as before; arrange and place in a long form and bind. The legs of such birds as yellow-legs may be stitched together at the tibial joint, then bent toward the sides, and the toes stitched to the skin.

In making skins of all birds where the back of the head is opened, the orifice should not be sewed up until after the wire has been inserted in the upper mandible, as it may be necessary to add more cotton through here to make the throat or back of the head as full as in life. Sew up this orifice by taking fine stitches in only the extreme edge of the skin, and the same caution must be exercised in sewing up accidental tears in the skin. Very tender skins may have tears mended by pasting tissue-paper neatly over the holes from the inside. In fact it is best to sew up tears from the inside, always using silk thread for the purpose.

Section IV.: Making Skins of Herons, Ibises, etc.—Proceed exactly as in long-necked birds, but to make a compact skin lay the bird breast down, and turn the head and neck on the back, and fasten the legs to the sides. I always wire the necks, and for additional security, to prevent them being straightened by careless or inexperienced persons, I stitch the bill to the skin of the back. In addition to sewing on the inside of the wing, stitch the wing firmly to the inside, by sewing over the outer primary into a pinch of skin on the side, thus the wing is fastened in two places.

Ducks’ skins may be made in a similar manner, but the feathers of the side must be brought over the wings, and the webs of the feet may be spread with a wire, which must be removed, however, when the feet are dry, or it will rust; and galvanized or brass wire is the best for making skins.

Section V.: Hawks, Owls, Eagles, Vultures, etc.—The skins of these large birds are made in forms, but the wings must be stitched to the sides, as in herons, etc. The necks must be wired. In making the skins of all large birds it is best to use bodies made of excelsior or grass, rather than cotton, which does not make a firm enough body. See remarks under mounting for instructions for making bodies; but they do not need to be quite as solid for skins as in mounting; in fact, keep them as light as possible. Too much care cannot be taken in forming the eyelids of all birds, especially large ones. Have the cavity occupied by the eye round, with the cotton lying smoothly inside, and not projecting in a ragged manner.

Section VI.: Labelling Specimens.—A skin is of little value unless labelled with date, locality, and sex. Never lay a bird one side without a label is firmly attached to one foot or other part. The sex of birds is indicated by the astronomical signs of the planets; Mars (?) and Venus (?), the former being, as is obvious, the mark for males and the latter for females. To keep these in mind one has only to remember, that that of Mars is a conventionalized spear and shield, indications of his warlike profession, while that of Venus is supposed to represent a looking-glass, an article so indispensable to feminine taste. I use blank forms for labels, and the simpler the better; thus, below is one which I used during my last expedition to Florida:—

The sex of either, male or female, is printed, but at least two-thirds as many males as females are needed; while any notes regarding the color of feet, bill, and iris of each specimen may be written on the back. The size given is the one used for specimens from the size of a humming-bird to that of a golden-winged woodpecker. The labels of ducks and herons may be attached to the beak by securing through the nostrils, as then they are more readily found.

It is well to keep in mind that in order to have any value as a scientific specimen, a bird must be labelled as near as possible with date, locality, and sex, but never guess at either. If you have a skin in your possession that you are not absolutely certain about, either label it with an interrogation mark filling the part of which you are in doubt, or do not label it at all. Thus if you are unable to determine the sex satisfactorily, say so by drawing a line through the sex mark and substituting a query (?).

Section VII.: Care of Skins, Cabinets, etc.—When skins are removed from the forms they should be dusted with a light feather-duster, striking them gently from the head downward so as not to ruffle the plumage. Although skins are well preserved from the attacks of demestes and anthrenus, which feed upon the skin, yet the feathers are always liable to be attacked by moths, while the skin on the feet or bills is also liable to be eaten. This may be prevented by washing the parts with a solution of bleached shelac dissolved in alcohol. By far the best way to insure absolute safety is to shut up the skins in insect-proof cabinets. Various methods have been tried to prevent the ingress of moths, etc., in cabinets, but the best and simplest is to have a door fitted to the outside of the drawers of an otherwise perfectly jointed cabinet. This door is provided with a bead which surrounds the outside and fits in a groove on the margin of the woodwork outside the drawers, while the whole door fits in a groove which extends quite across the bottom. Another method which we practise on our latest-made cabinets is to have each drawer moth-proof, by having a margin made all around it which fits into a groove, then all the drawers are covered by closing a flange on the sides.

Section VIII.: Measuring Specimens.—Specimens of all rare birds should be measured. With the beginner, it is best to measure every specimen. I measured some fifteen thousand birds before I made a single skin without so doing, and now I am careful to take the dimensions of all rare specimens. The dimensions of a bird are taken as follows, using dividers and a rule marked in hundredths of the inch: First measure the extreme length from the tip of bill to end of tail; then the extreme stretch of wing from tip to tip; then the length of one wing from the scapular joint to tip of longest quill; next, the length of tail from end of longest feather to its base at the insertion in the muscles; now the length of bill along culmen or chord of upper mandibles; and of tarsus from tarsal joint to base of toes. I have a blank sheet ruled, and fill it out as per sample (page 62).

CAMPEPHILUS PRINCIPALIS.

Section IX.: Making over Old Skins.—Sometimes it is desirable in case of rare birds to make over into presentable skins specimens which have been improperly prepared. Prepare a dampening box by placing a quantity of sand, dampened so as to just drip water, in any metal vessel having a tight-fitting cover. Then wrap the specimen to be made over in paper, lay it on the sand, and cover with a damp cloth folded several times. Place the cover on the vessel and set in a moderately warm place for about twenty-four hours if the specimen be small, longer if large. At the end of this time the skin will be quite pliable. Then remove the cotton and examine the inside of the skin carefully, and if there are any hard places caused by the skin being too thick, scrape them down with a blunt knife or, better, use our skin-rasp, and thus thin them down until the feathers above are as flexible as in any other portion. If there be grease on the feathers or inside of the skin after scraping, wash with benzine, and dry with preservative as described. When every portion of the specimen is perfectly pliable, and all superfluous dried flesh has been removed, sew up the rents, and make up as in fresh birds, but such skins generally require more careful binding. It is also often necessary to wire the neck of even small birds, especially in badly shattered and decayed skins.