50 OWLS. 



brown colour mentioned, of which the fold is composed, must 

 be touched by a mixture of the scarlet varnish, with a little 

 powdered burnt-umber, and the blue streaks with which it is 

 traversed, coloured above with cobalt blue. All the varnish 

 colours have a tendency to shine, which, it will be evident, is 

 not the character of any part of the skin, or caruncle of the 

 bird described. As soon, therefore, as it is thoroughly dry, 

 which will be in about an hour, the whole surface must be- 

 gently rubbed with very fine sand paper, which will completely 

 remove the gloss, ?*id give the appearance of nature. 



Some nicety will be required in painting betwixt the hairs, 

 but it can be easily managed with a little caution. Sometimes 

 these hairs are liable to become brown, in which case they 

 can be touched with the black varnish. 



As these birds are inhabitants of warm climates, some care 

 is requisite, after killing them, to prevent decay ; the tendons 

 of the legs should be extracted to prevent their being attack- 

 ed by moths, and their place supplied by some cotton and pre- 

 servatives. The tendons are extracted by means of a longitu- 

 dinal incision made behind the tarsus. The edges of this in- 

 cision can easily be brought together when the bird is under 

 the process of preparation. 



In skinning the different species of the Owl genus, much 

 care is to be exercised in drawing the skin of the neck over 

 the head, as it is generally so very large in proportion to the 

 thickness of the neck, that it is no easy task to get it to pass 

 over without either tearing or stretching the skin ; this must 

 be assisted by the use of the nails of the thumb, and easing it 

 all round with the end of the scalpel handle. 



The attitudes of these birds are always very simple. They 

 are generally sitting in an upright posture, or devouring 

 their prey, in which little energy is expressed. 



ORDER II.OMNIVOROUS BIRDS. 



Birds of this Order will admit of much more variety of 

 attitude in the stuffing than those of the former. For the 



