2 
Before skinning a bird, a record 
is made of the collecting locality, 
a description of the bird’s molt, 
wing and leg lengths, weight and any 
other pertinent data. This infor- 
mation is later transferred to the 
tag which is fastened to the leg of 
the finished specimen. 
The upper wing bones are then 
broken as close to the body as pos- 
sible. The bird is placed on its 
back on a tray or pie tin contain- 
ing sawdust, the feathers on the 
abdomen are parted, and an incision 
along the median line is made from 
the posterior part of the breast- 
bone to the anus. The cut must be 
deep enough to penetrate the layer 
of skin and fat but not deep enough 
to puncture the heart and stomach 
muscles. Sawdust or corn meal is 
placed in the cut. The handle of 
the scalpel is used to separate the 
skin from the body wall. The skin 
is worked loose to the first joint 
which is grasped with the thumb and 
forefinger and pulled out of the 
skin. After working the skin loose 
completely around the joint a scal- 
pel or bone cutters is used to sever 
it at the joint of the thigh and 
lower leg. After separating the 
other leg from the body by the same 
technique, the skin is worked loose 
to the base of the tail. The bone 
is cut just anterior to the oil 
gland with scissors or bone cutters. 
Care is taken not to cut through 
the skin in the region of the tail. 
After the tail is free, the skin is 
pushed in the direction of the bead, 
rolling it up inside out as it be- 
comes free of the body. The scal- 
pel handle may be used to separate 
the skin from the body but fingers 
and fingernails are faster. 
The muscles attached to the wing 
are severed, and the skin is rolled 
inside out towards the head. This 
procedure keeps the fat from soil- 
ing the feathers. The skin is push- 
ed over the neck and posterior por- 
tion of the head. 
The ear is connected to the skull 
by means of a skin tube which is 
pulled out with the thumb and fore- 
finger or cut with a scalpel. After 
the ears have been separated from 
the skull, the skin is pushed on to- 
wards the beak. The eyeballs are 
covered with a thin membrane which 
connects the eye with the eyelids. 
The membrane is cut without cutting 
through the eyelid or eye. The skin 
is then pushed to the base of the 
bill. The eyes are removed by in- 
serting forceps into the orbits, 
grasping the optic nerve and pulling 
the eyeball out. Care is taken not 
to puncture the eyeball because the 
fluid will soil the feathers. 
Scissors are used to cut out the 
back of the skull. The neck is pul- 
led loose from the skull, and the 
brain is exposed. The brain and any 
muscles or fat are removed from the 
skull . 
The wing, leg, and tail bones 
are cleaned of all muscles and fat. 
On the wings, two main bones, the 
radius and the ulna, are felt 
through the feathers. The muscle 
tissue attached to these bones is 
cut out by making a longitudinal cut 
between the bones on the underside 
of the wing. Muscles and tendons 
are pulled out and cut off. Care 
is taken not to loosen the primary 
feathers. All muscle tissue and 
tendons are cut off the leg bones 
and the skin is stripped down to 
the next joint. Cotton is wound 
around the bones to compensate for 
the loss of the muscles. On larger 
birds such as albatrosses, an in- 
cision which exposes the tendons is 
made on the foot. These tendons 
are pulled out and cut off. The 
oil gland, which is located at the 
base of the tail and keeps feathers 
