90 
It is best to let a bird lie for a short time after death for the blood to 
coagulate, A freshly killed bird bleeds freely and it is well to keep blood 
away from the feathers. Plug the throat with a fresh wad of dry cotton 
and put a fresh pad on the nostrils if the blood continues to ooze out. If 
the body has begun to stiffen, the wings will be in the way, and the humeri 
{upper bones of the wing) may be snapped in two as close to the body as 
possible. This may be done with the thumb and fingers in small birds or 
by a tap with a knife handle or hammer in large birds. If a large bird, 
such as an eagle, hawk, or owl, is to be mounted with spread wings, it is 
just as well to leave the humerus intact inside the skin. 
Lay the bird on its back and part the feathers in a straight line along 
the middle of breast and abdomen. The feathers of birds are arranged in 
well-defined patches (pterylae), and in most land birds the parting will 
show a more or less bare strip along the median line. In water birds this 
part may be covered with short, downy, under feathers. Make an opening 
cut from about the middle of the breast bone backward to the vent. To 
avoid cutting through the wall of the abdomen, a small opening may be cut 
on the breast and the handle of the scalpel thrust underneath the skin to 
work it loose at sides and backwards. Slipping the edge of the scalpel under 
the loosened skin and cutting upwards, the cut is extended to the vent. If 
the abdominal wall is opened by a shot or knife cut so that the intestines or 
juices come out, there is no great harm done, but the hole should be plugged 
with cotton. From the time the first cut is made pinches of cornmeal or 
fine sawdust should be sprinkled freely upon the flesh to absorb any fluids 
and to dry the surface so that the feathers will not stick to it. 
Loosen the skin along the sides of the body and the knee joint soon 
becomes visible (Figure 27). Take hold of one of the feet from the outside 
and push the knee farther up into view. The leg should be severed at the 
knee joint, in small birds by clipping it in two with the scissors, and in 
large birds by cutting across the tendons with a knife and then separating 
the bones. Some collectors leave skinning of the leg until later, but the 
better practice is to skin the leg at once to prevent the weight from tearing 
the skin. Turn the skin of the leg wrong side out, working it loose from the 
flesh wfith the thumb-nail, as far as there are anv feathers. If the tibia is 
partly scaled, as in sandpipers, the leg can be skinned only part way down, 
but if the tarsus is feathered, as in some hawks and owls, it may be skinned 
to the toes. 
