<div dir="ltr"><div>Hi Nina and everyone,</div><div><br></div><div>I would recommend not using any glues or adhesives for this task, as no adhesive is 100% reversible at the microscopic level. These are research specimens and their potential could be diminished by this addition. As an example, proteomic studies get severely impacted by the presence of adhesives, no matter how much you dissolve them because they are still present at the molecular level.</div><div><br></div><div>I would try some of the great non-adhesive tips shared here, so you prepare the specimens for the analytical techniques of the future. </div><div>Best of luck,</div><div>Mariana</div><div><br></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size:12.8px"><font color="#351c75"><b>Mariana Di Giacomo, PhD</b></font></div><div style="font-size:12.8px"><b style="color:rgb(53,28,117);font-size:small">Natural History Conservator, Yale Peabody Museum</b><div style="font-size:small"><span style="color:rgb(53,28,117)">Member at Large; </span><span style="color:rgb(53,28,117)">Associate Editor (Collection Forum), SPNHC</span></div><div style="font-size:small"><br></div><div style="font-size:small"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">El jue, 20 nov 2025 a las 21:03, Symcha Gillette (<<a href="mailto:sgillette@alaska.edu">sgillette@alaska.edu</a>>) escribió:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div>In addition to tying them shut with thread, I usually use a pin to secure the bill and prevent the lower mandible from sliding backward. See attached photos. Unlike an adhesive, it's not guaranteed to always keep the bill tightly closed once the thread and pin are removed, but it generally does the job.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">-Symcha Gillette</div><div dir="auto">Research Affiliate, University of Alaska Museum<br><br><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Nov 20, 2025, 5:57 AM Black, Nina <<a href="mailto:npblack@fas.harvard.edu" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">npblack@fas.harvard.edu</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Hi All,</div>
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Does anyone have advice for an archival glue that can be used to keep bills closed when preparing bird skins, or perhaps can suggest a good method for this? We always tie them shut with string through the nostrils, but for some birds that have long bills or
oddly shaped ones it is hard to keep it closed. Some colleagues have used regular super glue, but I am not so keen on this idea</div>
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Thanks,</div>
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Nina</div>
<div id="m_-4030384504242268355m_-6994129611239466960m_6185269424093141325m_-5605417424478583801Signature">
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:12pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<br>
</div>
<div style="font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<b>Nina Black</b></div>
<div style="text-align:left;margin:0px;font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Curatorial Assistant</div>
<div style="text-align:left;margin:0px;font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:10pt;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
Ornithology & Mammalogy</div>
<div style="text-align:left;margin:0px;font-family:Aptos,Aptos_EmbeddedFont,Aptos_MSFontService,Calibri,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:13.3333px;color:rgb(0,0,0)">
<span style="background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">Museum of Comparative Zoology</span></div>
</div>
</div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Nhcoll-l mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<a href="https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l</a><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br>
Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br>
mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br>
natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br>
society. See <a href="http://www.spnhc.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.spnhc.org</a> for membership information.<br>
Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.<br>
</blockquote></div>
</div></div>
_______________________________________________<br>
Nhcoll-l mailing list<br>
<a href="mailto:Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu" target="_blank">Nhcoll-l@mailman.yale.edu</a><br>
<a href="https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://mailman.yale.edu/mailman/listinfo/nhcoll-l</a><br>
<br>
_______________________________________________<br>
NHCOLL-L is brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of<br>
Natural History Collections (SPNHC), an international society whose<br>
mission is to improve the preservation, conservation and management of<br>
natural history collections to ensure their continuing value to<br>
society. See <a href="http://www.spnhc.org" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.spnhc.org</a> for membership information.<br>
Advertising on NH-COLL-L is inappropriate.<br>
</blockquote></div>