THE OOLOGIST 



20tli, I thought they were mistaken in 

 the description. We had several nights 

 wliicli were below zero. 



On December 15th one of the boys 

 brouglit me tlie bird alive, which they 

 had caught sitting on a stump, nearly 

 frozen, as it was 15 degres below zero. 

 It was a Green Heron and perfectly 

 all right when thawed cut. I fed it for 

 several days and then it managed in 

 some way to escape. I think this is 

 the record for fall migration of Butori 

 des Virescens. 



On December 27 these same boys 



captured an American Bittern (Botaur- 



us lentiginosus). I never observed the 



birds later than November 15 before. 



E. A Wheeler, 



East Randolph, New York. 



SPEED AN ASSET IN THE MAKiNG 

 OF BIRD SKINS 



One is led to believe at times that 

 scientific work should always be pains- 

 taking, thorough and slow. To a 

 great extent this is true, but in the 

 making of perfect bird skins it will be 

 found that if great rapidity along with 

 expert skill a'nd accuracy be cultivat- 

 ed, tlie results will be highly satis- 

 factory, and possibly surprising. It 

 seems that the skin of a bird, once off, 

 has a tendency to shrink in some 

 areas, and to stretcli in others in sucli 

 a way, that, unless tlie collector knows 

 birds intimately he may easily shape 

 his specimen in a manner never cliar- 

 acteristic of the species. Of course, 

 if speeding up means that there must 

 be attendant inaccuracy, loss of feath- 

 ers, increase of blood stains, or a kin- 

 dred error, it is far Detter to go siow- 

 ly; but the advice of the writer to tha 

 amateur is that he have great 

 speed always as an aim in view, for 

 reasons aside from tiie mere saving of 

 time. 



All accessories — tools, plaster, corn 

 meal, and preservatives should be im- 

 mediately at hand; particularly corn 

 meal, or some absorbent for taking up 



liQuids. Many collectors do not poison 

 any part of the skin until the whole is 

 removed. They must have the entire 

 skin inside out, and in order, before 

 applying the poison. And this fre- 

 quently means that the area of the 

 head and neck must be moistened be- 

 fore the skin may be adjusted. This 

 I think, in the case of small birds, is a 

 mistake. It is just as easy, and quite 

 as thorough to apply poison to any 

 part, such as leg, wing or head, separ- 

 ately, and just after the work is done. 

 For two reasons at least this suggest- 

 ed method is better than the former: 

 first, the freshly pulled-off skin takes 

 up the poison much more rapidly and 

 more permanently due to its moist, ad- 

 hesive condition; and second, the 

 feathers of the part skinned fall back 

 into their normal position much more 

 readily and correctly when the area is 

 adjusted rapidly. 



Particularly in the region of the 

 head is speed advantages. The more 

 time taken, the harder it is to gel the 

 skull back through, due to the drying 

 of the skin, and similarly, the less 

 time taken, the more easily and 

 naturally the feathers fall back into 

 place. In skinning the legs, clean, 

 poison and wra'p the tibiae all at one 

 operation, and pull the leg bones into 

 position permanently. In the v/ings, 

 clean, poison, and tie both as rapidly 

 as possible, pull back into place, and 

 arrange the primaries, secondaries, and 

 coverts immediately, either before or 

 after skinning out the head (preferably 

 after) but in either case, all in one 

 operation. It is well known that a 

 slight mistake about the eyes, ears or 

 neck may work havoc with a skin, but 

 with proper precaution such mistakes 

 are out of the question, and with much 

 practice the skinning out of the head 

 becomes almost mechanical. When 

 the skull has been rapidly cleaned, 

 and the head muscles somewhat thor- 

 oughly removed, poison bountifully 

 and turn back immediately, before any 



