Bird guys, thanks for reading this. I have done hundreds or maybe thousands of taxidemy pieces over the last 16 years, but when I first learned birds at my one-stop taxidermy school, I only left having confidence in flying birds. Every time I started to put a standing bird back together, I never could get the wings put back and the rest of the bird in it's proper shape. No matter what I tried.
I wrapped my own bodies from traced patterns, I measured everything twice at least, and I am 100% sure I wrapped my bodies with the exact wing pocket as the body had. I don't get it. I now want to do birds and I have no confidence in doing standing birds.
I guess my quesion is this: Can I pick up anything in one of these beginner's videos that could help me be able to put a bird back together, or do you think I should shell out the money and go to a seminar and see if that works? It is very frustrating to have pride in mammals and fish, but to fear birds. Any OPINIONS are welcome.
Thanks,
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I use 99% foam bodies. I just can't see taking the time to properly wrap a body. That would be the first switch I'd make if I were you. When I wrap bodies for standing birds, I make sure I sew in the wing pockets and pockets for the legs. Without these being there, it will be darn near impossible to get the proper shape. Your wings will not lay right and if your drumsticks stick out too far, you will never get the side pockets right.
Second, on standing birds (duck size), I do not wrap any of the wing bones. On turkeys, geese, swans, etc. I wrap the wings with cotton batting. If you wrap the wings on smaller birds, that will also make it difficult to get them to lay right.
Third, when I mount a standing duck, I do not wire the wings. I use a technique I learned from Joe Ferebee that works perfectly. Cut the ball off the humerous bone. Then take a piece of wire and stick it inside the humerous bone as far down as it will go and then bend it into an "L" shape. Then, push the wire into the mannikin where the humerous attaches, but do not cinch it to the form...just push it in and leave it. This allows your wing to rotate properly. You can play with the wing and take it through all the rotations that a live bird can do. When you're done playing, fold the wing up and pin it through the wrist. If it doesn't look right, un-pin it and try again. I'll also note that on all standing birds, I do not strip the wing. I leave the primaries and secondaries attached to the radius/ulna (can't remember which is which). To flesh the wing I make an incision on the underside.
Also, you will want to make sure that you have your scapulars pinned in the proper locations as they can make your wing set look "not-quite-right".
Instead of that (since you're no rookie), why don't you invest and attend either the National or World Shows. You can take a live seminar and see exactly how to set the wings as well as get the interactive satisfaction of asking specific questions.
Now I just have to ask: Are you wiring your wings? If you are, stop. Fold the bones inside the wing and push it forward and up. Have the "elbows" sitting near the spine and tuck your wing tips up. Then pull the scapulars back over the coverts.
A bird's wings connect in the same place regardless of whether it is standing or flying and a wrapped body or a foam body will work eqally well, provided that it is ACCURATE. Wired wings give you total freedom to taxi the skin and adjust everything as needed. Just make sure that you use a soft wire with no memory, like baling wire. Research Mannikins sells a similar wire in larger sizes if you need it, but regular baling wire will work for birds up to medium duck size.
It might help to study the wing and shoulder structure of the next bird you skin BEFORE you disconnect the joint. It sounds like your problem may lie in how you are interpreting your reference. In my opinion, a flying bird, if done PROPERLY, is somewhat harder than a standing one. A lot of people can't see the nuances of anatomy, though, because they are distracted by the size and color of an open-winged bird and they seldom see them in that position for more than a split second. Standing birds get more scrutiny, so your eye can tell you that something is "wrong" even when you can't quite figure out what it is.
Seeing is believing. While I concur with the above posts, my suggestion is to "pluck" every feather off a duplicate bird and look at the wing attachment both in location of the joint and the location of the skin. Whether you wrap the wing, attach the wing with a wire or pin it with no wire, seeing what it looks like will be of material value if you have never done it. Even if you go to the store and buy a whole chicken. Danny Owens does this regularly, then wires the bird and freezes it in the position he intends to mount it. Manikins and wrapped bodies are rigid, real bodies are not. A tucked wing on a real body blends into the carcus. To appreciate how much this happens, Again, I would pluck a bird and look. If you use the humorous head, you will have to carve out a spot as well as carve out a path for the humorus bone. Otherwise it will look and be out of polace. If you cut off the humorus head, you will have to position the remaining humorous were it would be originally taking into account that you have removed the "head" of the bone. In most cases, this is a little farther back that many believe. I prefer to wire my wings as I like the flexibility of moving them where I want. Pinning the wing also pins the skin under it and you lose some taxiing ability.
You can pick up ideas from watching tapes, but attending a seminar is the best approach and will be far more cost effective than trial and error. It may also be helpful to contact a colleague near where you live and visit with them. Or join your State Association and attend one of their conventions and seminars. Very few of us do the same exact things when mounting animals and it will be educational no matter what. Good Luck
A lot of good ideas
I would not hesitate to buy " Mounting a standing waterfowl" by Stefan Savides from Research Mannikins. I bought both it and the flying video before I went out to study with him for a week. I still refer back to both if I get hung up in a situation like you describe. Best bird money I have spent. I believe you can never get enough training and seeing other ways of doing the same job will allow you to decide which way works best for you.
As stated, use some reference, keep some "dummies" around to fiddle and fondle with while mounting. Obviously, the same species is best. When done, refreeze and save for next time. Pay close attention to your photo reference and taxi each group into its place. Use a wig pin or needle and get the skin in the right spot before preening. Imagine trying to move a fishing rod around by the tip instead of placing the butt where you want it and letting the tip go into the proper place. Watch out for bunching and get the skin of the elbow pulled back into postion, it usually needs to be move proximally, that is towards to body if you don't have a medical terminology background. As you get things in position, pin them, make sure that your last pin doesn't hamper your next taxi.
You can either wire or not wire, I do both depending on specie/trauma/mood(mine, not the bird's). If you do wire, you can get away with about three sizes smaller than if mounted flying, and use only annealled or copper. I generally pre poke the holes as 19 gauge(medium duck) generally will not penetrate most foam mannikins, especially if they haven't had the "rind" rasped or sanded off. Get rid of the ball of the humerous, and get a small channel/pocket for the bone to lay in. Test fit it prior to sewing it up. watch symmetry.
Whatever way you go, try it a half dozen times minimum before passing judgement on it.
Hope this helps, and as George said, get to a competition, it is where you really learn.