THIN SKINS, ETC.—FAT. 75 
and when it is properly effected it is surprising what little space 
a crane, for instance, occupies. But it is rarely, if ever, admis- 
sible to bend a tail back on the body however inconveniently 
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. 
§40. Tun skin. Loose prumace. It is astonishing how 
much resistance is offered 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 tro- 
gons are said to have remarkably thin and delicate skin; I 
have never handled one in the flesh. Among our birds, the 
cardinal grosbeak has, I think, about the tenderest skin. The 
obvious indication in all such cases is simply a little extra 
delicacy of manipulation. In skinning most birds, you should 
not loose more than a feather or two, excepting those loos- 
ened by the shot. Pigeons are peculiar, among our birds, 
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. Strip- 
ping down the secondary quills from the forearm, in the manner 
already indicated, will so almost invariably set these feathers 
free from the skin that I recommend you not to attempt it, 
but to dress the wings as prescribed for large birds. 
§41. Fatness. Fat is a substance abhorred of all dissec- 
tors; always in the way, embarrassing operations and obscur- 
ing observations, while it is seldom worth examination after 
its structure has once been ascertained. It is particularly 
obnoxious to the taxidermist, since it is liable to soil the plu- 
mage during skinning, and also to soak into the feathers after- 
wards; and greasy birdskins are never pleasing objects. A 
