RTPI to Host Bird-Skinning Demonstration/Workshop 10/20/18
The bird specimens so artfully depicted in Alberto Rey’s ‘The Extinct Bird Project’ exhibition, now on view at RTPI, are stunning studies of lifeless creatures that will never again be seen in the wild. Some of the birds represented in Rey’s paintings have been dead for over a century, but their preserved bodies are still available for researchers – and artists – to study in the country’s natural history museums, including the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI). These so-called ‘study skins’ are not taxidermy mounts, prepared with their aesthetic value in mind, but...
Read MoreBird Extinctions
It’s not every day that we do photo shoots with organisms that have been dead for any length of time; however, on occasion the preserved bird skins in the Peterson collection still get a bit of use even though some of the birds themselves have been dead for over a hundred years, and their species extinct for decades. Many of the bird skins that lay in their likely final resting spot here at RTPI were part of Roger Tory Peterson’s collection that he used for reference while painting each species for his field guides. Nowadays they still serve a purpose for researchers and others...
Read MoreRTPI’s avian archives
RTPI’s extensive archives hold a massive collection of bird study skins. This includes several extinct species as well like the Passenger Pigeon, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet, and Bachman’s Warbler. I looked through hundreds of warblers yesterday while I was answering a couple of questions for myself after the busy last few weeks of spring migration. I was struck by this size differential – Prothonotary Warbler vs. Wilson’s Warbler. We “know” their respective sizes but…geez! The Wilson’s Warbler on the right with the black cap...
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