THE ART OF MOUNTING BIRDS, DRIED SKINS, FEATHERS, ETC.
MOUNTING IN GENERAL.
We will suppose that a proficiency, from practice, has been attained in
the art of bird-preserving, according to the instructions given. The
proficiency in preserving may apply only to the preservation and the
form, great and necessary things, no doubt, as preliminaries; but, like
matter without manner, of little avail alone. For attitude, I would
say, as has been said to many a young artist, go to Nature, and there
you will find an original in perfection. Would you make a willow-wren
look like a willow-wren, watch him as he there hangs upon the weeping
birch, or stands on a bough peering in quest of food. Each bird has its
own manner, and if you cannot hit the manner, or make your stuffed skin
so far amenable as to assume the attitude, it is either ill-stuffed, or
you want the requisite knowledge of that which you should copy.
BIRD PINNED UP.
Having fixed on the attitude, it now only remains to put the feathers
into their natural order as smoothly and regularly as possible; and to
keep them in this state they should be bound around with small fillets
of muslin fastened with pins as represented in fig. 17. The bird should
then be thoroughly dried, by placing it in an airy situation, if in
Summer; or if in Winter, near the fire, but not so close as to affect
the natural oil contained in the feathers. The want of proper attention
in drying ruins many a fine specimen; if long kept damp putridity
ensues despite all preservatives, when the skin will become rotten, and
the feathers will soon fall off; besides, the mold and long-continued
damp change the chemical properties of the preservatives used.
[Illustration: _Fig. 17._]
After the bird has been thoroughly dried, the fillets are removed; the
wire which protruded from the head is cut off as close to the skull as
possible, with the wire cutting pincers elsewhere shown. It must then
be attached to a circular, or other shaped piece of wood, with the
generic and specific name and sex, as well as its country and locality
attached to it, on a small ticket, when it may be placed in a museum.
Young hands commonly suppose that a bird should stand bolt upright,
with the legs almost perpendicular, or at right-angles to the perch.
This is a great mistake, and never to be found in Nature. Do _we_
stand rigid, like a foot-soldier on drill? Does not a bird, as well
as ourselves, accommodate itself to the thing on which it rests?
Assuredly it does; for birds do not, as a young bird-stuffer endeavors
to do, find always a perch to rest upon in the plane of the horizon.
It therefore follows that, as he keeps himself upright, his legs must
accommodate themselves to his perch. So in the ground-birds there is a
gentle slope backwards from the hind toe, the balance being preserved
in both cases by throwing the body forward in proportion. It is not
uncommon to see birds preserved with wings and tail spread. Now,
ordinarily speaking, this is very objectionable, because very unnatural.
[Illustration: _Fig. 18._
_Fig. 19._
_Fig. 20._
_Proper positions of birds._]
A bird preserved is supposed to represent a bird in a state of repose;
that is, not in flight; the only modification allowable being with
regard to those birds whose manner it may be to have the wings more
or less open on occasions; thus the falcon tribe, supposing they are
represented as devouring a quarry, or two birds toying with each other.
It may be that a bird essentially aerial, like the swift, or perhaps
some of the terns or the frigate bird, may be represented as actually
on the wing. In this case, of course, the wings must be spread; and
this is best done by passing a wire, not too thick, from the base of
the quill-feathers on the under side alongside the bone into the body,
where it should be carefully and coaxingly inserted towards the tail
until you feel that you have a pretty good hold. You may then pass it
carefully under the longest quill-feather, and through the back of the
case, and fasten it by bringing it back again through and clinching it,
concealing it so by the oblique position of the bird that it is not
detectable. It is obvious that by passing the wire alongside the bone,
you may bend the wings to any angle you please.
With regard to the case, there are two methods; one a bell-glass,
which, glass being now so reasonable, is certainly a very pretty and
reasonable way of mounting, but inapplicable to birds which are to be
placed on a wall, or to be represented flying; although this may be
managed by attaching one wire from the point of the wing to a twig
sufficiently firm, which it will scarcely appear to touch, if managed
adroitly. It is likewise indispensable that a bird for a shade should
be stuffed so well as to look nicely in all positions. One thing must
always be remembered, _do not have your case a shade too large_, just
clear the object so as not to stint it for room; and in flat cases
this applies chiefly to depth, for it should have sufficient light,
or it will not look well. Wooden cases should be made as slight (in
thickness) as is consistent with firmness; well-seasoned white deal is
best; and the case should be formed of back, top and bottom, open at
the front and sides, and at each corner of the front two slight deal
supports, rabbited on their inner edges, and presenting on the whole
this appearance.
Having the case prepared, it should be papered with ordinary demy paper
on the top and back within, and, when the paste is dry, washed over
carefully with size and whitening, tinted with a little stone-blue;
some add some touches of white subsequently to represent clouds, the
ground representing the air; some also paste a landscape on the back,
but this must be good, or you had better have plain color. The bird
to be placed in this case is either perching, standing or flying. For
the latter, directions have been given. As to the two former, the
perch must be firmly fixed in the small piece of flat wood upon which
it previously stood, and put in upon it, the wood being fastened to
the bottom of the case, either by screwing from below, from above, or
gluing with stout glue, or by passing wire through two holes in the
bottom of the case and the wood, and clinching above. In this case,
or in screwing from below, let the wire or the screw into the wood,
and putty over, and so if the bird is represented standing. The bird
being fixed, the next thing is the decorating or "weeding," as it is
technically called, and here we enter upon a subject so entirely of
taste and fancy, that no fixed rules, as to the disposition, can in
all cases be given. One rule applies equally to this as to landscape
painting, viz., that there should always be a compensation of objects.
That is, if you have a turf of grass on one side which rises towards
the top of the case, there should be something in the lower opposite
corner to strike the eye, but not to rise above midway at furthest,
and the ground, or floor, should not be over-furnished with moss, etc.
After the bird is fixed, the whole bottom should be carefully glued
over with thin glue, taking care, where the bird's feet are at the
bottom, not to touch the toes with the glue. Some fine-sifted sand
or gravel should then be sifted over it, and it will adhere wherever
the glue has touched; for this purpose a small tin shovel is best,
something in this form, and about two inches wide by four long, with a
handle in proportion, which can be made to order at any tin-man's for a
trifle.
Everything used in "weeding" should be baked in a slow oven, otherwise
spiders' eggs and minute creatures, which are pretty sure to be
contained in it, will make their appearance after the case is closed
in the disagreeable form of destroying your specimen. Moss, etc., by
being slowly dried, will also keep its color better. Yellow moss, found
on the roofs of old barns, and dark gray of the same species, are very
generally useful: and where yellow moss cannot be had, the white or
gray may be colored with chrome, and looks as well. Water-plants fade,
being more or less succulent, and hence a little common water-color
with gum will be used with advantage and look less artificial than
oil paint, which is often used. Fern looks very pretty as an adjunct
for heath-birds, but it should be dried gradually and carefully, when
_quite_ full grown, and a small touch of light green, permanent white
forming a portion of it, will give it a freshness and more natural
appearance. Grass in seed (not in flower) of various kinds is also a
very pretty addition; but bird preservers have a habit of using dyed
grass, and yellow and red _Xeranthymum_, or Everlasting, which is
certainly to be avoided, and indeed anything which is unnatural. If it
is wished to introduce a lump of earth, or an apparent bank, a piece
of thick brown paper, bent to the requisite shape, and glued over and
covered with sifted sand or gravel, has a very good effect; but insects
and butterflies, or artificial flowers, unless they are extremely
natural, should certainly be avoided. Regard should also be had to the
season at which the bird is usually seen.
For instance, Summer birds are, of course, surrounded by green and
living objects, but Autumn or Winter visitants by decaying or dead
herbage. It has often been made an experiment to represent snow, but
it is difficult to obtain anything white enough, and at the same time
of a crystalline character, which, of course, it should be. Potato
farina nicely dried, mixed with Epsom salts pounded very fine, does not
make a bad substitute; but the real difficulty lies behind, namely,
in fixing it, and, more than all, the least damp takes very much from
its appearance, if it does not destroy the effect, and hence we must
have recourse to mineral aid, and any very white mineral powder mingled
with pounded glass is perhaps best. It is unnecessary to say that the
herbage upon which it is meant to rest should be touched all over
with paste, not glue, and the white mixture shaken over and left to
dry. What will heighten the effect very much, if prettily executed,
is a black landscape with a dark leaden sky and nearly black earth
mingled with moss. To represent water, a small piece of looking-glass,
surrounded with moss, etc., answers very well. The bills and legs of
birds should be always varnished, and where the natural color fades
after death it should be restored by a thin coat of oil-color of the
required shade. The bird being fixed and the case garnished, nothing
remains but to put in the glass; this is in three pieces, one for the
front and a piece at each end. This can be pasted in with very strong
paper round the edge, advancing sufficiently over the glass to hold
it. In doing this it is not necessary to be very particular to avoid
pasting the glass, as after it is dried it can be wiped clean with a
damp cloth. The last operation is a very simple one, and done in a few
minutes. You must procure some black spirit-varnish, which you can
make yourself by dissolving the best black sealing-wax in spirits of
wine, and should be kept corked; when this is good it acts as paint and
varnish at the same time, and dries as fast as it is put on. One or two
brass rings screwed on at the top of the back of the case will finish
the bird, and if the case be nicely and closely made, there is no limit
of time to which the preservation of the specimen may not extend.
METHOD OF MOUNTING DRIED SKINS.
We must now say something respecting the setting up of skins which have
been preserved by travelers, and sent home from distant parts.
The general method is exactly the same as in stuffing recent specimens.
There are, however, some preliminary steps which it is necessary to
know.
If the specimen sent home has been partially stuffed, our first
business is to undo the stitches, if it has been sewed--which was an
unnecessary process. We then remove the whole cotton or tow from the
inside, by the assistance of forceps, and from the neck with a small
piece of wire, twisted or hooked at the end. Having finished this,
small balls of wet cotton are placed in the orbits of the eyes, and the
legs and feet are wrapped round with wet cotton or linen rags. A _damp_
cloth is then thrown over the bird, and it is allowed to remain in this
state till next day. The neck and body are then filled with wet linen
or cotton, and it will be ready for commencing setting up in four or
five hours.
The eyes are now put in, as directed in the recent subjects, and
then stuffed in exactly the same manner. Some difficulty will,
however, be experienced with respect to the leg-wires, and it will
require more time and care, from the dryness of the legs, to get
the wire to penetrate. Having proceeded so far as to get the bird
generally formed, the wings are next adjusted; this also is frequently
difficult, owing to the stiffness of the tendons and want of proper
attention in skinning and drying them at first. Indeed, with some of
the South American birds, a proper adjustment of the wings is found
impracticable, owing to the attempts of the native Indians of Guyana,
who seldom dispose them properly.
When these skins--frequently exceedingly valuable from their
rarity--are undone, to be remounted, it is oftentimes found utterly
impossible to get the wings to take a natural set, in which case there
is no other remedy but cutting them off close to the body, and fixing
them anew. The scapulars are separated, they are softened with damp
cloths, and then wrapped up with bands of sheet lead, to give them a
proper set. When we have got them in their natural shape, they must be
fixed to the sides by cement and cotton, and a long pin through each,
with the head concealed amongst the feathers. The scapulars, which we
have cut off, must then be cemented on, and they will effectually cover
the joining of the wings. The bird being now arranged, and all the
feathers adjusted, it is wrapped round with small bands of fine linen
or muslin, and set aside till thoroughly dry.
Should any feathers be disengaged during the mounting, they must be
kept, and, when the bird is dry, we can replace them in their proper
situations with a pair of forceps, after they have been touched on
their shafts with the cement; the feathers around the place in which we
intend to insert them must be held up with the probing-needle.
If any of the feathers are deranged in mounting, and have got a wrong
set, the only way to remedy the defect is to pull them out with
forceps, and re-insert them with cement.
OF MOUNTING BIRDS, FEATHER BY FEATHER.
Rare birds are frequently received from foreign countries, the skins of
which are in such a state of decay, that it is impossible to mount them
by the ordinary process above described. The only way in which they can
be preserved, is to mount them feather by feather, which, however, is a
very tedious method. It is as follows:
Procure a piece of soft pliable wire, such as is used by bell-hangers;
or take some of the ordinary wire used, and make it red-hot in the
fire, and allow it to cool gradually, when it will become quite
pliable. Take five pieces of this, of different lengths, and form them
into the skeleton of a body; namely, two for the back, one on each
side, and one to represent the breast-bone. Imitate the shape of the
bird's body as nearly as possible. The wires must be roughened with
a file, at the place where all the wires meet, at the neck and rump;
and first wrap the place next the neck round with strong thread or
fine brass wire. Two pieces intended for the back must bend gently
downwards, and be gradually separated from each other towards the
center, and brought together again at the place intended for the
rump, whither they must intersect each other, and be twisted two or
three times, to keep them in their place; they are then spread out
as supports for the tail; the side-pieces are next formed, so as to
represent the natural bulge of a bird's body, and attached to the rump;
the piece representing the breast is then formed, joined at the rump,
and afterwards continued as long as the other tail-pieces, to support
the center of the tail; while at the front extremity a piece is left,
for the purpose of forming a neck to which to attach the head. Two
leg-wires are attached to the side-wires, being rolled round them for
several turns, making a frame-work the shape of the bird.
After this body has been properly formed, it must be wrapped round
with tow-sliver, and the neck thickened to its required dimensions.
When this is accomplished, the head, legs, wings and tail are softened
in the usual manner; the eyes are then fixed in with some cotton
introduced into the orbits, with a little of the cement. The wings and
tail are now placed on a table, with a flat leaden weight above each,
to restore them to their natural shape. The leg-wires are then passed
through the legs, commencing at the top, and bringing them out at the
soles of the feet, and left with a piece extending beyond the claws.
The tail is now fixed on, by first attaching to it a quantity of cotton
with the cement, and, when dry, it is fixed to the part intended as the
rump.
The feet of the bird must be fixed into a piece of wood, as a perch,
the ends of which must be left some inches beyond the body. The end
next to the tail is fixed into a table-vise, with the belly upwards,
and the head pointing toward the operator. The feathers are now put
on, commencing under the tail, or crissum, with what are termed the
under-tail coverts; a coating of cement must be previously laid on, to
attach the feathers with. It is proceeded with upwards to the breast,
and finally the length of the neck, taking care to put the proper
feathers on their respective sides, as the side-feathers have all an
inclination to one side. The bird is now turned with the back up, still
keeping the head towards the stuffer; and the wings are fixed on with
cement, and pins forced through the beards of the feathers to conceal
the heads. When this is done put on the feathers of the rump, and
proceed upwards, as has been done with the belly. After reaching the
top of the neck, the head is then fixed on with some cotton immersed in
the cement, and allowed to dry before attempting to put on the feathers.
In this mode of mounting a bird there are several things which must
be attentively adhered to; these are--first, not to put the feathers
too thick, for there is a danger of running short; secondly, all the
shafts of the feathers must have a small bit cut off the tip, so as to
admit the cement and to give them a firmer hold; and thirdly, that the
feathers should all occupy their respective parts; and fourthly, that
they should be arranged as they are in nature on these parts, as the
disposition of every part of the body is peculiar to itself.
At first, this mode of setting up birds will be found a difficult task,
but, by a little practice and experience, it will become familiar and
comparatively easy, although it will always be found a tedious process.
We have seen some specimens set up in this way, which we could hardly
detect from those mounted in the ordinary manner.
Besides what we have already said concerning the stuffing and
preparing of birds, there are many details connected with particular
species which demand our attention, and which can only be described
as regarding that species. It will, however, be impossible for us to
enter into all these minutely, but only give a few examples as general
guides. We shall take these in systematic succession.
PRESERVATION OF COLORS.
In the preservation of the feathers of Birds, little else is required
to prevent the dissipation of their colors than to keep them as much as
possible from air and light. These two agents, which were indispensable
to their beauty and perfection in a living state, now exercise their
influence as destroyers, and that influence will sooner or later work
its ends according to the quality, texture, or color of the object with
which it is contending. The feathers are now deprived of two agents,
which in a living state contributed to their vigor and their beauty,
namely, the internal circulating juices which they received from the
body of the animal, and the external application of oil by the bill of
the bird, supplied from a gland which is placed over the rump of all
birds.
The colors of the rapacious tribes are not so evanescent as those of
many others, as they, for the most part are composed of intense browns
and blacks, which are not so easily absorbed by light or air, so that
they continue for a very long period without any sensible difference.
There are, however, certain other points which are liable to almost
immediate change of color after the death of the animals, and these are
the cere and skin of the legs and feet, and the naked skin on the heads
and necks of Vultures and their congeners. We shall treat of these
individually.
Now, as all these colors which we have described are liable to change,
immediately after death, it is evident that considerable nicety will
be required to give the preserved specimen the appearance of nature.
These must, therefore, be supplied artificially with the varnish
colors, which we have particularly described in their proper place,
as also the combinations for the formation of compound colors. The
reddish-brown color mentioned, of which the fold is composed, must be
touched by a mixture of the scarlet varnish, with a little powdered
burnt umber, and the blue streaks with which it is traversed, colored
above with cobalt blue. All the varnish colors have a tendency to
shine, which, it will be evident, is not the character of any part of
the skin, or caruncle of the bird described. As soon, therefore, as it
is thoroughly dry, which will be in about an hour, the whole surface
must be gently rubbed with very fine sand-paper, which will completely
remove the gloss and give the appearance of nature.
Some nicety will be required in painting betwixt the hairs, but it can
be easily managed with a little caution. Sometimes these hairs are
liable to become brown, in which case they can be touched with the
black varnish.
As these birds are inhabitants of warm climates, some care is
requisite, after killing them, to prevent decay; the tendons of the
legs should be extracted to prevent their being attacked by moths, and
their place supplied by some cotton and preservatives. The tendons are
extracted by means of a longitudinal incision made behind the tarsus.
The edges of this incision can easily be brought together when the bird
is under the process of preparation.