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Dioramas and Dusty Birds

If you have ever been to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., you have seen the impressive preserved specimen of an African elephant in the main foyer. Now, imagine the impact of this giant on a small child. I don't know whether this experience started my love affair with biology and the natural world, or just cemented it.

Other children may have preferred the old cars in the American History Museum or the airplanes and space suits in the Air and Space Museum, but I was always drawn to the beautiful, artistic dioramas of far-away ecosystems; to the live insect zoo, where I could hold giant beetles in my little hand; to the dusty, stuffed specimens of birds and mammals. It's amazing to think that now, twenty-odd years later, I have made my own contribution to the collection.

Friends of Bull Run is currently in the process of applying for a migratory bird salvage permit, which will allow us to start a collection of bird study skins. We will collect any birds found dead and store them in a freezer until they can be prepared as specimens. Recently I had the privilege of being trained by a museum specialist in the Division of Birds at the Natural History Museum. The process of preparing a study skin requires a thorough knowledge of technique, a strong stomach, and an artistic eye. My training included preparing a starling with my instructor and then preparing one on my own. These two birds will now become part of the Smithsonian's collection.

How does one actually prepare a study skin? It's not as bloody or messy as one might think. An incision is made into the bird's very thin skin from the center of the belly to the cloaca. The limbs are broken close to the body, and then the entire skin is separated from the body, leaving tail, wings, and legs attached to the skin. As the skin is peeled back it is turned inside out until the back of the skull is reached. The eyes are removed and then the body is sawed away from the head at the back of the skull. The brain and tongue are removed. Next, one must remove as much remaining fat and muscle tissue as possible in order to ensure a long lasting study skin. Older study skins were preserved with arsenic at this point; today many people use borax to prevent insect damage.

Now we get to the artistic portion of the preparation. The bones of one wing are tied to the bones of the other wing with thread in such a way as to keep them at the proper distance to create a natural looking bird. Next the skin is turned right side out and washed and dried if necessary. Eyes are made of wads of cotton and pushed into the eye sockets, taking care to form a naturally sized and positioned eye. The upper leg bones are pulled inside out and wrapped with cotton to create a "drumstick" look and then pulled back down into place. A wooden dowel is wrapped with cotton to simulate the head and body and is pushed up into the skin until the cotton "head" rests inside the skull. The body is adjusted with cotton until it has the right mass. The bone at the base of the tail is sewn to the dowel and then the belly is sewn shut. The legs are crossed left over right and then tied to the dowel. A tag containing the bird's information is tied to the left leg. The last step is to position the feathers in a natural manner and pin the bird to a board, where it will remain until the skin has dried.

At roughly 600,000 birds, the Smithsonian's collection is the third largest in the world. The collection contains everything from ostriches down to the tiniest hummingbirds; some of the oldest specimens are from the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804 through 1806. The study skins are stored in wooden drawers inside large cabinets. These in turn are lined up in endless rows in the dark labyrinth of hallways of the behind-the-scenes world of the museum. The study skins provide scientists from all over the world with data for a myriad of research projects, especially taxonomic studies. I consider myself lucky indeed to have been able to hold part of this impressive collection in my hands, like I held those giant beetles all those years ago.