382 PREPARATION OF BIRD SPECIMENS 



a proper use of the tweezers in lifting the skin and pulling the 

 twisted feathers will make them all right. Go over the whole 

 surface of the body — practice will give you the knack — 

 and get all the plumage in shape. Leave the feathers some- 

 what open and fluffy, as is natural for this bird. The legs 

 and neck are to be bent till the position of body suits you. 

 Your first bird will be apt to have too long a neck and too 



much of its legs exposed. 

 As a rule, the tibiae of the 

 sparrows do not show at 

 all, and even the heel is 

 well within the feathers. 



22. Before putting the 

 bird away to dry, most 

 writers on taxidermy ad- 

 vise the winding of the., 

 whole surface with thread, 

 so that the shrinking of the 

 skin over the rough body 

 will not force the feathers 

 into poor positions. If this 

 is done, the thread should 

 be so lightly drawn as to 

 barely touch the feathers. 

 The usual method is to 

 stick a number of pins into 

 the body; hook a loop of thread around one of these pins, 

 and then wind it back and forth from pin to pin in all direc- 

 tions till all the plumage is properly held in place. 



If there is a well-formed, smooth body, and each part of the 

 skin occupies its proper place on that body, the drying of 

 the skin will not twist or displace the feathers. A well- 

 mounted bird needs but little, if any, winding. There is apt 

 to be too much of this work, to the detriment of the specimen. 

 Let the feathers have a natural, that is, generally, an open 

 appearance. Watch a caged canary, and see the different 



