on mounted bird-exhibits.



191



normal, easy, and attractive attitudes, he is, at the same time, more

successful with some groups than with others. Probably he is not

surpassed by anyone, or even equalled, in his extraordinary achieve¬

ments as exemplified in his taxidermy of both wild and domesticated

gallinaceous birds, Ducks, and Pigeons. Sometimes the hardest

taxidermical nuts are handed over to him to crack. These consist

of old, dried skins of birds, all out of shape, flat and twisted with

bulging eyelids and crooked legs. He is expected to mount them

in such poses as will elicit the admiration of all beholders. Nine

times out of ten he does this very thing ; and out they come from

his old shop—perfect wonders of his art. His years of untiring

labour in all of these various lines — and for several years past

with but one eye with which to work—have gradually filled the

great bird cases in the New National Museum, and a few people

in the world at last begin, really begin, to realise what a marvellous

collection those grand cases contain. Some of the groups are simply

superb, and special reference is made to the domestic Fowls, the Wild

Pigeons, Carolina Parroquets, the Hoatzins, Grouse — in fact, dozens

of others, to say not a word as to what we find in the great main

cases of the hall. I have recently made a number of photographs

of Mr. Wood’s single studies—or pieces, as they say in other art

lines — more particularly of the birds of Australia and the Eastern

Archipelago. Some of my photographic work in these has recently

gone down to Melbourne for publication, and other examples of

it may be placed elsewhere later on. This is done not only to

stimulate and further the objects and aims of artistic taxidermy,

but to let people in general know what expert work in that art

really is.


To illustrate my subject here, four of Mr. Wood’s pieces

have been selected, and reproductions of my photographs of them

constitute the plates to the present article. In Fig. 1 we have

an old male of the famous Cattle Egret or Heron (Bubulcus

coromandus ), a species that ranges through India and Ceylon,

extending far into the Burmese countries, China, Siberia, and

southward to the Moluccas. It has gained its name from the

habit it has of alighting on the backs of wild and domestic cattle,

evidently to feed upon such insects or other invertebrata as it



