BULLETIN 39, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 
[«] 
will serve to keep 
these places. 
out the Dermestes which would otherwise attack 
Fig. 7. — Tongue-bones or hyoid of a Great Blue 
Heiun. 
Fig. 8.— Eye- 
bones, sclero- 
tals.of a Great 
Blue Heron. 
The hyoid bones, which sup- 
port the tongue and are attached 
to the windpipe, should be saved, 
as should also the windpipe itself 
whenever, as in many ducks, it 
has bony structures developed in 
part of its length. 
In many birds, and especially in birds of prey, there is a 
ring of bones surrounding the pupil of the eye. It is there- 
fore best — unless you are an expert — not to remove the eye- 
ball, but to simply puncture it to allow the escape of its 
fluid contents. 
Kemove the brain carefully. 
In making the skeleton into a bundle for pack- 
ing, bend the neck backward, detaching the 
skull if necessary, and fold the legs and wings 
closely alongside of the body. 
SPECIAL POINTS. 
Cormorants have a small bone attached to 
the back of the skull, and in Auks and many 
similar birds there is a small bone at the el- 
bow. 
Sometimes there is a little bone at the hinder 
angle of the lower jaw, so that it is a good rule 
not to trim up a bird’s skull too closely. 
The easiest, and in many ways best, way to 
collect small birds is to place them entire in 
alcohol first making an incision in the lower, 
part of the abdomen to allow the alcohol to reach 
the viscera. 
Alcohol should not be used of full strength 
(95°), the proper proportion being one-quarter 
water and three-quarters alcohol. 
TURTLES. 
In order to rough out a turtle it is usually 
necessary to remove the under shell or plastron, 
although some species, such as certain of the 
large land tortoises, can be roughed out with- 
out doing this. 
In sea turtles and a few others the plastron can be cut loose by taking 
a little time to the operation, but in the more solidly built tortoises and 
Fig. 9.— Skeleton of a bird 
ready for pa-'jking. 
