Photo credits: www.commons.wikimedia.org
Naturalists have been collecting and preparing specimens for hundreds of years. Ornithologists traditionally used the specimens to discover new species. Today researchers use them to study extinct species, bird diseases, and even environmental trends like air pollution as was done by comparing levels of soot build-up on the feathers of birds collected a hundred years ago.
The ‘study skins’ in drawers and cabinets are not taxidermy mounts, prepared with their aesthetic value in mind, but rather scientific specimens that are prepared and preserved for longevity and scientific accuracy. To prepare a study skin, the flesh is removed leaving the skin, plumage, and hard external parts (bill and legs) intact, so that the bird roughly resembles a live bird.
NHSM is honored to have Jonas Ethan Lai demonstrate the process of creating study skins. Jonas worked for ten years at the American Museum of Natural History in the Division of Vertebrate Zoology-Ornithology and is currently a Feather Identification Laboratory Contractor creating study skins for the National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C
Pre-Registration is Required.
$20 NHSM Members
$25 Non-Members
$5 Children under 12 years of age
Contact Bronwyn at bstrong@marylandnature.org for more information
The Natural History Society of Maryland is a volunteer-led non-profit organization, so the fee you pay will go directly to support the programs, the nature collections, and the building that make this kind of nature education possible.
Thank you for your support!