Harlequin ducks are small sea ducks. In North America they are also known as “lords and ladies.” Other names include painted ducks, totem-pole ducks, rock ducks, glacier ducks, mountain ducks, white-eyed divers, squeakers, and blue streaks. Adult breeding males have a colorful and complex plumage pattern. Their bills are blue-grey and their eyes are reddish....

On my birthday in August every year I get an interesting one-page printout from my insurance agent. It shows the prices of items on my birth year (1948) compared to average prices for the current year. Many items are compared with price increases from a dozen eggs, a loaf of bread, a CokaCola, on up to a pickup truck and the average home cost from then to now. Yes,...

Before deciding to offer a World Title for habitats, I gave a lot of consideration into the importance that habitats have played for moving into our modern era of taxidermy. My first thought was that habitats have had a strong position in taxidermy for well over a hundred years. Look back at our historic museums with dioramas full of natural looking habitats during the end...

I start this second article by continuing our focus on the head exterior and mouth interior, which are two of the most viewed areas of any competition or commercial mount. I will also highlight craftsmanship as well as one of the major areas of evaluation on the scoresheet, and one of the biggest areas for improvement for nearly all taxidermists, that being the pelvic and...