It is well to keep in mind that in order to have any value as a scientific specimen, a bird must be labelled as near as possible with date, locality, and sex, but never guess at either. If you have a skin in your possession that you are not absolutely certain about, either label it with an interrogation mark filling the part of which you are in doubt, or do not label it at all. Thus if you are unable to determine the sex satisfactorily, say so by drawing a line through the sex mark and substituting a query (?).
Section VII.: Care of Skins, Cabinets, etc.—When skins are removed from the forms they should be dusted with a light feather-duster, striking them gently from the head downward so as not to ruffle the plumage. Although skins are well preserved from the attacks of demestes and anthrenus, which feed upon the skin, yet the feathers are always liable to be attacked by moths, while the skin on the feet or bills is also liable to be eaten. This may be prevented by washing the parts with a solution of bleached shelac dissolved in alcohol. By far the best way to insure absolute safety is to shut up the skins in insect-proof cabinets. Various methods have been tried to prevent the ingress of moths, etc., in cabinets, but the best and simplest is to have a door fitted to the outside of the drawers of an otherwise perfectly jointed cabinet. This door is provided with a bead which surrounds the outside and fits in a groove on the margin of the woodwork outside the drawers, while the whole door fits in a groove which extends quite across the bottom. Another method which we practise on our latest-made cabinets is to have each drawer moth-proof, by having a margin made all around it which fits into a groove, then all the drawers are covered by closing a flange on the sides.
Section VIII.: Measuring Specimens.—Specimens of all rare birds should be measured. With the beginner, it is best to measure every specimen. I measured some fifteen thousand birds before I made a single skin without so doing, and now I am careful to take the dimensions of all rare specimens. The dimensions of a bird are taken as follows, using dividers and a rule marked in hundredths of the inch: First measure the extreme length from the tip of bill to end of tail; then the extreme stretch of wing from tip to tip; then the length of one wing from the scapular joint to tip of longest quill; next, the length of tail from end of longest feather to its base at the insertion in the muscles; now the length of bill along culmen or chord of upper mandibles; and of tarsus from tarsal joint to base of toes. I have a blank sheet ruled, and fill it out as per sample ([page 62]).
| No. | Sex. | Locality. | Date. | Length. | Stretch. | Wing. | Tail. | Bill. | Tarsus. | Color of | Remarks. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eye. | Bill. | Feet. | |||||||||||
| 1936 | ♂ | Gulf Hummock, Fla. | Nov. 20, 1882 | 20.35 | 31.00 | 9.30 | 6.35 | 2.75 | 1.80 | Yellow | Ivory white | Greenish | Plumage, new |
| 1937 | ♀ | ” | ” | 19.75 | 30.00 | 9.00 | 6.25 | 2.65 | 1.60 | ” | ” | ” | ” |
| 1938 | ♂ | ” | ” | 21.00 | 32.00 | 9.60 | 6.50 | 2.80 | 2.00 | ” | ” | ” | ” |
| No. | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | |
| Sex. | ♂ | ♀ | ♂ | |
| Locality. | Gulf Hummock, Fla. | ” | ” | |
| Date. | Nov. 20, 1882 | ” | ” | |
| Length. | 20.35 | 19.75 | 21.00 | |
| Stretch. | 31.00 | 30.00 | 32.00 | |
| Wing. | 9.30 | 9.00 | 9.60 | |
| Tail. | 6.35 | 6.25 | 6.50 | |
| Bill. | 2.75 | 2.65 | 2.80 | |
| Tarsus. | 1.80 | 1.60 | 2.00 | |
| Color of | Eye. | Yellow | ” | ” |
| Bill. | Ivory white | ” | ” | |
| Feet. | Greenish | ” | ” | |
| Remarks. | Plumage, new | ” | ” | |
Section IX.: Making over Old Skins.—Sometimes it is desirable in case of rare birds to make over into presentable skins specimens which have been improperly prepared. Prepare a dampening box by placing a quantity of sand, dampened so as to just drip water, in any metal vessel having a tight-fitting cover. Then wrap the specimen to be made over in paper, lay it on the sand, and cover with a damp cloth folded several times. Place the cover on the vessel and set in a moderately warm place for about twenty-four hours if the specimen be small, longer if large. At the end of this time the skin will be quite pliable. Then remove the cotton and examine the inside of the skin carefully, and if there are any hard places caused by the skin being too thick, scrape them down with a blunt knife or, better, use our skin-rasp, and thus thin them down until the feathers above are as flexible as in any other portion. If there be grease on the feathers or inside of the skin after scraping, wash with benzine, and dry with preservative as described. When every portion of the specimen is perfectly pliable, and all superfluous dried flesh has been removed, sew up the rents, and make up as in fresh birds, but such skins generally require more careful binding. It is also often necessary to wire the neck of even small birds, especially in badly shattered and decayed skins.