Taxidermy supplies and tips > Bird taxidermy

Bird taxidermy

Preparing and mounting a bird

With our tools and materials assembled and table in readiness, we come to the real work and, in the order of things, will address the preparing and mounting of a frepsh bird specimen.

To many people of long experience in the art of taxidermy this task never ceases to be a delightful operation, one of the pleasantest of many interesting bits of work that may result from a day spent out in the field.

Figuratively, the specimen lies before us, upon the bench. Make it any native bird your fancy desires.

Use pencil and paper

A pencil and a sheet of wrapping paper will first be brought into service. With these make outlines of the specimen, top and side views, laying the bird upon the paper and drawing the pencil around it while looking straight down upon it.

After the skinning, outline the body, top, and side views, upon same sheet, with position of shoulder joint, hip joint, knee, and tail marked in black spots. This system of wrapping paper sketches will
be found of great value in all work, from mounting a bird to setting up a deer head.

To make it easier for you to find your way around in the site we decided to split the bird taxidermy section up into 4 subpages:

- Skinning and cleaning of the bird
- Constructing an artificial bird body
- Mounting a dried bird skin
- Building a bird study cabinet