14 ORNITHOLOGICAL AND OOLOGICAL COLLECTING. 



the head from the neck at the base of the skull, as in Pig. 7 n, Plate 2, taking out with 

 the neck the tongue. The muscles of the lower mandible and around the skull must 

 be cut away. Now take out the brain. Do not cut the whole back of the skull oft 

 in order to get at the brain, as I have seen some taxidermists do; but make an opening 

 at the base of tae skull extending over into the roof of the mouth, exactly as we have 

 it pictured in Figs. 8 and 9, Plate 2. Scoop out the brain with your brain-spoon or 

 knife, and clean the head all over in a thorough and general manner. Give it a heavy 

 coat all over with arsenical paste or arsenical soap; fill the eye-sockets loosely with 

 balls of clean, white cotton, and the skin is ready to be returned. Before you do this, 

 however, while the skin is lying before you, wrong side out, clean all particles of 

 flesh and fat from it and poison the skin all over in the most thorough manner. 

 The returning of the skin back over the skull is well illustrated in Plate 3. Let me 

 caution the beginner that he will find some difiBculty in performing this operation 

 the first two or three times, especially if he is in haste to do it. Take your time by 

 all means with the first birds, and you will soon learn the knack of returning the 

 skin over the skull. Do not imagine that you can poke the skull straight through 

 the neck-skin without some careful manipulation. Work the skin over gradually, 

 and whenever it becomes rolled up on top of the skull or elsewhere work on the op- 

 posite side until the folded portion will clear itself, and suddenly it will pass through 

 and the skin will once more be right side out. The arsenical paste or soap will here 

 be of great assistance in aiding the skin to slip easily over the skull. The skin now 

 being turned right side out, the feathers may be very much disarranged. Take 

 hold of the bill, adjust the feathers with your fingers and spring forceps, and assist 

 them to fall back in their natural position. Insert the blunt end of a darning needle 

 in the eye-hole and rub it along under the skin above the skull and the skin and 

 feathers will fall back to their natural places. This little procedure is of the greatest 

 importance in adjusting the skin and feathers of a bird's head. You must now with 

 a needle point pluck out the cotton in the eye-soekets to the natural fullness of the 

 eyes, but do not make them bulge out. Make the circle of the eyelids perfectly 

 round, adjust the feathers of the neck carefully, and if all has been done according 

 to directions our robin skin is ready to be filled with tow or cotton to the natural 

 fullness, which I shall describe in the next chapter. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE MAKING UP OF BIRDS' SKINS. 



What is technically known to ornithologists and taxidermists as a "bird skin" 

 Is one constructed more or less artificially to conform to the general shape of the 

 actual dead bird. It is intended for scientific study, because a mounted bird is not so 

 easily handled, and a collection of them ordinarily occupies too much space. The 

 shapes into which these skins are made all depend upon the structural peculiarities 

 of the specimens. 



and scissors. If you desire to do so you can take the eye-cup out and clean it of its con- 

 tents, but you must put it back in its place. It is far better to leave the eye-cups in 

 place and clean the contents out without disturbing them. 



