[Nhcoll-l] Keeping bills shut

[Black, Nina]

Thank you all for the great suggestions, looks like we have some experimenting to do 🙂

Nina
________________________________
From: Knox, Dr Alan G. <a.g.knox at abdn.ac.uk>
Sent: Thursday, November 20, 2025 10:12 AM
To: Black, Nina <npblack at fas.harvard.edu>; nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: RE: Keeping bills shut


Hi Nina



I use small bits cut from soft plastic tubing. Very easy to pop on & take off when the skin has dried. Photo attached of some of the ones I use for small passerines. Could probably be used for larger birds as well.



Alan



Dr Alan Knox

Emeritus Head of Museums

University Collections

University of Aberdeen

AB24 3AA



From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Black, Nina
Sent: 20 November 2025 14:57
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [Nhcoll-l] Keeping bills shut



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Hi All,



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



Thanks,

Nina



Nina Black

Curatorial Assistant

Ornithology & Mammalogy

Museum of Comparative Zoology


The University of Aberdeen is a charity registered in Scotland, No SC013683.
Tha Oilthigh Obar Dheathain na charthannas clàraichte ann an Alba, Àir. SC013683.
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