PREPARING SKINS 



17 



10. Removing brain. Cut a square hole in back of cranium by inserting 

 the points of open scissors through the thin bone and closing them, repeating 

 this to cut out and remove a square of bone (fig. 8a). Break through the 

 thin bone of the hind orbit that separates eyes and brain with the point of the 



(a) 



Fig. 8. 



scissors. Force small pieces of cotton wool into the hole in the back of the 

 skull, forcing the brain matter into the orbit and cleaning it away from there. 

 When most of the brain is out remove any membraneous material with 

 forceps through the square hole. 



At this point the skull must be examined and the state of pneumatization 

 noted (see p. 26). 



1 1 . Removing tongue and cleaning skull. Cut along the inside edge of the 

 lower jaw on either side and pull away the tongue with forceps (fig. 8b). 

 Where possible the tongue should be preserved for study. Tie on a tag with 

 collector's number, species and sex written clearly in pencil, and place tongue 

 and tag in a specimen tube of alcohol or a formalin solution (see appendix 1). 

 Remove cotton wool plug in throat of bird. Scrape away flesh from skull, 

 especially in birds such as parrots where jaw-muscles are quite massive. 

 Take care not to disturb the joint between upper and lower jaw. 



12. Replacing skin on head. Pack out orbits with cotton wool to replace 

 eye. If skin has become dry apply a little water to keep it pliable, otherwise 

 the next stage may damage it. Apply preservative to the skin of head and 

 neck, and to skull. Carefully ease skin back over head, pushing skull back 

 inside it and using only fingers and thumbs (fig. 9). The loop of thread 

 through the nostrils can be used to turn head and neck right way out, but 

 do not pull hard. Once the head is through, eyelids should be eased into the 

 right position with forceps and the skin of face and throat smoothed into 

 place. Disarranged feathers can be sleeked by inserting the eye of a large 



