42 FIELD ORNITHOLOGY. 



The three mistakes most likely to be made by a beginner are, getting the body altogether too 

 large, not firm enough, and irregular. When properly made, it will closely resemble the 

 bird's body and neck, with an inch or several inches of sharp-pointed wire protruding from the 

 anterior extremity of the neck of tow. You have now to introduce the whole afiair into 

 the skin. With the birdskin on its back, the tail pointing to your right elbow, and the 

 abdominal opening as wide as possible, hold the tow body in position relative to the skin ; 

 enter the wire, pass it up through the neck, bring the sharp point exactly against the middle 

 of the skuU, pierce skull and skin, causing the wire to protrude some distance from the middle 

 of the crown. Then by gentle means insinuate the body, partly pushing it in, j^artly drawing 

 the skin over it, tUl it rests in its proper position. This is just like drawing on a tight kid 

 glove, and no more difficult. See that the body is completely encased; you must be able to 

 close the abdominal aperture entirely. You have next to wire the legs. Enter the sharp 

 point of one of the leg-wires already prepared, exactly at the centre of the sole of the foot, 

 thrusting it up inside the tarsal envelope the whole length of the " shank," thence across the 

 heel joint ^ and up along the next bone of the leg, still inside the skin. The point of the wire 

 will then be seen within the skin, and may be seized and drawn a little further through, and 

 you will have passed a ware entirely out of sight all the way along the leg. The end of the 

 wire is next to be fixed immovably in the tow ball. Thrust it in at the point where the knee, 

 in life, rests against the side of the body.^ Bring the point to view, bend it over and reinsert 

 it till it sticks fiist. There are no special directions to be given here ; fasten the wire in any 

 way that efi'ectually prevents '' wabbling." You may find it convenient to wire both legs 

 before fastening either, and then clinch them by twisting the two ends together. But remem- 

 ber that the leg-wires may be fixed respecting each other, yet permit a see-saw motion of the 

 body upon them. This must not be ; the body and legs must be fixed upon a jointless frame. 

 Having secured the legs, close the abdominal opening nicely, either by sewing or pinning ; you 

 may stick pins in anywhere, as freely as in a pin-cushion; the feathers hide their heads. Stick 

 a pin through the pope's nose to fix the tail in place. 



All this while the bird has been lying on its back, the neck stretched straight in continua- 

 tion of the body, wired stiffly, the legs straddling wide apart, straight and stiff", the wings lying 

 loosely, half-spread. Now bring the legs together, parallel with each other, and make the 

 sharp bend at the heel joint that will bring the feet naturally under the belly (over it, as the 

 bird lies on its back). Pick up the bird by the wires that project from the soles and set it on 

 its stand, by running the wires through holes bored the proper distance ajjart, and then secur- 

 ing the ends by twisting. The temporary stand that you use for this purpose should have a 

 heavy or otherwise firm support, so as not easily to overturn during the subsequent manipu- 

 lations. At this stage the bird is a sorry-looking object ; but if you have stuff"ed correctly and 

 wired securely, it will soon improve. Begin by making it stand properly. The common fault 

 here is placing the tarsi too nearly perpendicular. Perching birds, constituting the majority, 

 habitually stand with the tarsi more nearly horizontal than perpendicular, and generally keep 

 the tarsi parallel with each other. Wading and most walking birds stand with the legs more 

 nearly upriglit and straight. Many swimming birds straddle a little ; others rarely if ever. 

 See that the toes clasp the perch naturally, or are properly spread on the ffat surface. Cause 

 the flank feathers to be correctly adjusted over the tibiae (and here I wiU remark that with 

 most birds little, if any, of the tibise shows in life), the heel joint barely, if at all, projecting 



1 There is occasionally difficulty in getting the wire across this joint, from the point sticking into the enlarged 

 end of the shin-bone. In such case, take stout pliers and pinch the joint till the bone is smashed to fragments. 

 The wire will then pass and the comminution will not show. If there is any trouble in passing the wire through 

 the tarsus, bore a hole for it with a brad awl. 



« This point is further forward and more belly-ward than you might suppose. Observe the skinned body 

 again, and see where the lower end of the thigh lies. If you insert the wire too far back, you cannot by any possi- 

 bility balance the bird naturally on its perch; it will look iu imminent danger of toppling over. 



