A friend wants me to mount a mallard drake cupped up coming in. Im no pro but I have mounted 25 or so ducks. My question is other than magazines does anyone kow a good website strictly for reference. I have looked at tons of web pages of taxid. on here and I cant really find one coming in cupped up. Also what do you guys use to get that pretty curve in the wings. Ive always just rigged mine with strings wires and cardboard. Please help, Thats a hard position. Thanks
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you answer is in your question. Referece PHOTOS.. who takes photos.. PHOTOGRAPHERS.... Start checking out photography sites.. lots have avian galleries.. and most photographers have personal websites with additional galleries. There are tons of pictures out there. you just have to spend the time to find em.
As far as a cupped wing position... Think of it this way.. What causes a wing to cup......remember the bones are stiff and do not bend other than at the joints.. What you are seeing when a duck is "Cupping" is wind resistance. The way I recreate this is to place a piece of floral wire between two pieces of masking tape.. Running the length of the wire. Sticky side to unsticky side so you have the wire sandwiched between two peices of tape with one sticky side. Then I position this tape under the wing and shape the curvature I'm after with the wire. This incorporated with normal wing wiring will usually provide a nice cup after a little preening...
Jon