SEC. VII HOW TO MAKE A BIRDSKIN 55 



socket, and then fill it with cotton poked in between the lids. The 

 eyes are thus disposed of. Then, in skinning, when you come to 

 the head, dissever it from the neck and work the skull as far out as 

 you can ; it may be sufficiently exposed, in all cases, for you to 

 gouge out the base of the skull with the scissors, and get at the 

 brain to remove it. Apply an extra large dose of arsenic, and you 

 will never hear from what jaw-muscle has been left in. In all 

 these cases, as already remarked, the head is preferably set lying 

 on one side, with the bill pointing obliquely to the right or left. 

 Certain birds require a special mode of setting ; these are, birds with 

 very long legs or neck, or both, as swans, geese, pelicans, cormo- 

 rants, snakebirds, loons, and especially cranes, herons, ibises, and 

 flamingoes. Long legs should be doubled completely on themselves 

 by bending at the heel-joint, and either tucked under the wings or 

 laid on the under surface ; the chief point is to see that the toes lie 

 flat, so that the claws do not stick up, to catch in things or get 

 broken off. A long neck should be carefully folded ; not at a sharp 

 angle with a crease in the skin, but with a short curve, and brought 

 round either to the side of the bird or on its breast, as may seem 

 most convenient. The object is to make a bale of the skin as 

 nearly as may be, and when it is properly efiected it is surprising 

 what little space a crane, for instance, occupies. But it is rarely, if 

 ever, admissible to bend a tail back on the body; however incon- 

 veniently long it may be. Special dilations of skin, like the pouch of 

 a pelican, or the air-sacs of a prairie-hen, may be moderately displayed. 

 Thin Skin. — Loose Plumage. — It is astonishing how much 

 resistance is ofi'ered by the thin skin of the smallest bird. Though 

 no thicker than tissue paper, it is not very liable to tear if deftly 

 handled ; yet a rent once started often enlarges to an embarrassing 

 extent if the skin be stretched in the least. Accidental rents and 

 enlargements of shot-holes should be neatly sewn up, if occurring in 

 an exposed place ; but in most cases the plumage may be set to hide 

 the openings. The trogons are said to have remarkably thin and 

 delicate skin ; I have never handled one in the flesh. Among 

 British birds, the species of Caprimulgidce have about the tenderest 

 skins. The obvious indication in all such cases is simply a little 

 extra delicacy of manipulation. In skinning most birds, you should 

 not lose more than a feather or two, excepting those loosened by 

 the shot. Pigeons are peculiar for the very loose insertion of their 

 plumage ; you will have to be particularly careful with them, and 

 in spite of all your precautions a good many feathers will probably 

 drop. As stripping down the secondary quills from the fore-arm, 

 in the manner already indicated, will almost invariably set these 

 feathers free from the skin, I recommend you not to attempt it, but 

 to dress the wings as prescribed for large birds. 



