48 TAXIDERMY AND ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



short the neck is, how the eye does not bulge out of the head, 

 and note the fact that the breast and belly look full, round, and 

 comfortable, instead of presenting that ghastly, drawn-Tip, evis- 

 cerated appearance so often seen in the amateur's mounted 

 specimens. Note the color of the eye, the bill, the cere, tarsi, 

 claws, and all other parts that will require painting when the 

 specimen is mounted, if it ever should be. Now take the fol- 

 lowing 



MEASUREMENTS. It would be high treason for me to recom- 

 mend any other system of bird measurement than that directed 

 by Dr. Coues in his incomparable " Key to North American 

 Birds," and it is hereby set forth : 



1. Length. Distance between the tip of the bill and the end 

 of the longest feather of the tail. 



2. Extent of wings. This means the distance between the 

 tips of the outstretched wings as the bird lies flat upon its back. 



3. Length of wing. Distance from the angle formed at the 

 (carpus) bend of the wing to the end of the largest primary. In 

 birds with a convex wing, do not lay the tape-line over the curve, 

 but under the wing, in a straight line. 



4. Length of the tail. Distance from the roots of the tail feath- 

 ers to the end of the longest one. Feel for the " pope's nose ; " 

 in either a fresh or dried specimen there is more or less of a 

 palpable lump into which the tail feathers stick. Guess as near 

 as you can to the middle of this lump ; place the end of the 

 ruler opposite the point, and see where the tip of the longest 

 tail feather comes. 



5. Length of bill. Dr. Coues takes " the chord of the culmen," 

 which is determined thus : " Place one foot of the dividers 

 on the culmen just where the feathers end ; no matter whether 

 the culmen runs up on the forehead, or the frontal feathers run 

 out on the culmen, and no matter whether the culmen is straight 

 or curved. With me the length of the bill is the shortest dis- 

 tance from the point indicated to the tip of the upper maii- 

 dible." 



6. Length of tarsus. Distance between the joint of the tarsus 

 with the leg above, and that with the first phalanx of the middle 

 toe below. Measure it always with the dividers, and in front of 

 the leg-. 



