SKINNING BIRDS. ' 97 



In long-legged birds of prey and waders, the tendon back of ihe 

 leg should be taken out so that the leg can be wired easily if the 

 bird should ever be mounted. It is also a great aid in keeping the 

 scutellae of the tarsus intact. 



This can be done by making an incision back of the heel — that 

 is, the tibio-tarsal jo*int, and another incision in the fleshy part o 

 the foot. Now sever the tendon at the heel, place an awl under i^ 

 and pull it down and out. The part contained in the tibial portion 

 can be removed from above while the leg is being skinned. Next, 

 skin around the coccyx or tail-hone cutting off' and severing the tail 

 from the body inside the skin. 



The bird may now be hung head downward, by a hook inserted 

 in the exp:)sed stump of the rump ; and wiih a little care the 

 skin may be gradually stripped off as far as the wings. Tlie wings 

 are to be severed from the body, inside the skin, at the shoulder 

 joint. At this stage the wings themselves are to be separately 

 skinned; detaching the secondaries from the ulna; scraping the 

 bones thoroughly and removing the humerus or single bone of the 

 wing entirely. This method of skinning the wing is only applied 

 to small\)\xd.%. Ahvays leave in all but the head of the humerus 

 in good-sized birds. Neve) detach the secondaries from the ulna 

 in birds the size of Cooper's Hawk and upwards for in order 

 to do t^ood work on a large bird if it should ever be mounted, the 

 secondaries must be attached to the bone. Especially is this the case 

 where the bird is to have the wings spread. When the secondaries 

 are detached it is impossible to give them the even spacing and reg- 

 ular spread that they have in nature. 



The muscles and tendons can be removed by making a cut on 

 the under side of the wing, from the elbow to the wrist; this cut 

 can afterwards be neatly sewed up and the feathers will fall smooth- 

 ly to their place and cover the scam. As soon as the wings have 

 been severed, the skin, which by this time will have been 

 turned inside out, will easily slip along the neck as far as the head. 

 To skin the latter is the most difficult part of the job, and must be 

 carefully done or the skin will tear. 



The head should be skinned close down to the base of the beak, 



