[23] DIRECTIONS FOR COLLECTING BIRDS RIDGWAY. 



the table in front of you, with the fibers running toward and from you; 

 lay the bird carefully on this, on its back, with head to your left.* 

 riuJBt" up the long, loose feathers on each side until the thumb and 

 forefinger can be placed beneath them and then gently press the sides 

 beneath the wings together, just as you would squeeze a wouuded bird 

 to kill it, only the pressure need not be so strong. Then bring the wlugs 

 up against the sides in a natural position, allowing the feathers of the 

 sides to fall or lay over them, and adjust the wing- tips beneath the base 

 of the tail. Lay the feet in a natural position, spread the tail as much 

 as may be desired, and touch up the plumage wherever there is any 

 disarrangement of the feathers. When the specimen has been thus 

 properly shaped and smoothed take up one edge of the cotton and lift or 

 wrap gently over that side of the bird and hold until the opposite edge 

 is brought up and lapped over it, drawing less where the circumference 

 is greater and more where it is smaller — the main object being to have 

 the cotton envelope fit as exactly as possible the contour previously given 

 to the specimen. Care should be taken to see that the feathers of the 

 abdomen overlap and cover the incision and that they are held thus by 

 the cotton envelope. The cotton about the head may be twisted around 

 the point of the bill, so as to keep it closed, but it is better to first close 

 the bill by i^assing a slender needle and thread through the nostrils 

 and tying beneath the lower mandible.t This had best be done imme- 

 diately after the neck filling has been inserted. 



Different collectors, however, have almost as many methods of wrap- 

 ping skins. One of the best, and perhaps easier to follow, as well as 

 more satisfactory in its results, is the following, practiced by Mr. 0. W. 

 Richmond, of Washington, whose specimens are particularly adnjired 

 for their fine shape and smoothness. 



After the incision on the abdomen has been stitched together,^ the 

 feathers arranged and the legs crossed, the skin is ready to be wrapped. 

 For wrapping, physicians' absorbent cotton is the best. Take a strip 

 of this about three times as wide as the diameter of the bird's body, 

 and, finally arranging and smoothing tlie feathers on the under parts, 

 lay the sheet of cotton over the bird, which should be held, on its back, 

 in one hand, between the thumb and forefinger to prevent the wings 

 getting out of place. One end of the cotton should be brought over 

 the head, and the bird then placed on the table or skinning-board, belly 

 downward, resting on the cotton. Any excess of that portion of the 

 cotton which has been brought over the head may be removed, the 

 plumage of the back arranged, and the corners of the cotton sheet 



* If tlie operator is left handed the position should of course he reversed. 



t Thick, short bills (such as those of grosbeaks) cauuot thus be kept closed, but 

 this may be done by sticking a pin (not too large) through the extreme anterior 

 angle of the chin into the. under surface of the upper mandible. 



t As mentioned on page 22 it is not absolutely necessary to sew the edges of the 

 incision together; in fact, many good collectors dispense with this entirely. 



