I am currently doing bird study skins for a university collection and came across some Coopers Hawks that they wanted mounted. My question is first of all are there forms available and secondly do I need to buy a head form and then paint the beak or can I just skin to the point where the skin attaches to the beak and keep the natural? Also any pointers to doing a better job mounting this would be greatly appriciated!
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Michael,
There are forms available for Accipiter cooperi but as you are aware they come in many different sizes, besides the difference seen in male vs. female body shape. A number of suppliers on this website list the forms, just go to the home and click on suppliers. I would learn to carve your own out of Balsa Wood, and for best flexibility in posing, I would wire the entire length of the leg, including the femur. If you don't you end up with boatloads of loose skin.
Assuming you are at Penn State (Main Campus?) you should trundle down to the Pennsylvania Taxidermy Association meeting coming up in a short while in Altoona (see the PTA website). You will undoubtedly gain a lot on information about taxidermy and laws as they relate to Pennsylvanians.
The second question you posed, that of using artificial heads - they are also available but I would never think of using one. On every study skin and mount I have done of this species the head can be inverted through the neck, the head rebuilt and eyes set, and the skin pulled back. The only color you will have to add on the beak is a light yellow at the base of the bill and the eye ring. The other colors hold up well and painting those areas do not help.
As Stephen has so succinctly covered (whew, had to look that one up), there are forms and heads available. Having done a few dozen, though, the natural head seems to work better because the raptors have a hard bill and a soft tissue bill (Stephen probably has some fancy name for that anomoly but I don't know it). It works easier for me, especially during painting of the larger raptors, to mount it just as Stephen describes.
One thing to mention is dont remove the cartlidge over the eyes. This cartlidge helps rapters have the keen eye look.
If you have never mounted a raptor using a cast head, you should give it a try. They make mounting them a pleasure. I have had the oportunity to mount raptors for diferent educational institutions and the forest service, as well as for Fish and Game. Not to mention the many I did as a kid.(remember psycho) I think it was legal then. But I feel there is no comparison of what I can do with a cast versus real head. Notice I didn't say compared to what others can do. I just feel it is easier to get the piercing stare and the true look of a raptor. In this case it has nothing to do with bill shrinkage. In case no one has noticed there are other advantages to using cast heads besides shrinkage.
One Man's opinion
Tony
Just because some people (I included) would never use an artificial head does not mean you shouldn't consider it. Tony, by the way makes great heads from what I have heard. The piercing look was pointed out as long ago as Frederick Lucas in the Early 1880's when he published suggestions on mounting hawks and owls. Always set your eyes deep as in life and leave the bone ridge/overhang still attached to the top of the skull. I think they "have" it there to act in shielding the eyes from glaring sun and see better. I sometimes leave the sclerotic ring still attached to the edges of the orbit and clean the eye out from the back through entrance under the head. With scissors or a scalpel you can slice out the covering of the fluid. The eye cavity can be filled with hot glue or epoxy and the eye set right where it should be. Also, should you wish to be critical make sure you have the proper eye for the age of the specimens plumage. The species start out with a yellowish eye and with older age they can tend toward dark orange or even occasionally red. If the eye is painted by yourself, the lower half should tend to be more towards the red/orange end than the upper head i.e. they turn darker from bottom to top - the opposite from my hair turning lighter gray on the bottom and retaining some color on top.
Tony, I thought you were too young to remember when Owls and Hawks were considered vermin.
I am officially a senior citizen. I used to kill chicken hawks as they were called then, that were killing my Grandpa's chickens. Gave me an excuse to mount one once in a while.You sure are right about that supra-orbital bone. If it isn't correct forget it. My point was just to say keep an open mind, try different things, and use what works best for you. I can remember when the talk was how foam manikens would never hold the skin well. Funny how things change with time.
Sincere Regards,
Tony
I would think that the whole idea of a study skin is for study. Why would someone want to study a cast head that didn't belong to the specimen you're studying. I guess if you listed on the tag that you found the head in a catalog on such a such date it might be OK.