Bird Taxidermy Exhibition opens at Museum of Belize
There’s a new exhibition at the Museum of Belize in Belize City. This one is not your usual painting, carvings and antique pieces; it is a show on birds in Belize. The birds, which have been preserved to look almost real life, are being showcased to share the birding offerings and highlight the importance of bird conservation in Belize. No birds were injured in the setting up of this exhibition. The thirty birds used were injured before by cars or other causes and died in the possession of registered agencies who kept them for rehabilitation purposes to introduce them back into the wild. When these birds died, an American taxidermist collected them and prepared them for educational display. Today, the exhibition was opened in memory of Lydia Waight, one of the founding members of the Belize Audubon Society. News Five’s Andrea Polanco was there and tells us more about the exhibit.
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
You don’t often see our national bird the keel-billed toucan, or a falcon or a heron flying around Belize City – but as oftoday you can get a close up look at these birds and twenty-seven others that are on display at the Museum of Belize. The only thing is that you won’t see them moving or flying around and that’s because the thirty dead birds have been preserved.It’s a collaborative exhibition between the Belize Audubon Society and the National Institute of Culture and History – where the birds are being showcased in a display called the Lydia Waight Gallery of Birds. Belize Audubon Society says it is about raising awareness of these species and the importance of bird conservation to Belize.
Amanda Burgos
Amanda Burgos, Executive Director, Belize Audubon Society
“So, the exhibition is for education and awareness purposes, largely. Each bird, there’s thirty birds within the exhibit. Each bird tells its story – so each tells us where it lives, where it eats, its nest, the information really is done in a simplistic manner that all of us can read it and understand. It also tells us about the threats of these birds, so we are aware of what threats are really prevalent towards these species and we can take action towards these threats that we see.”
For the past two years, an American taxidermist who resides in Belize, Dr. Stephen Zitzer has been doing the ground work to put on a bird taxidermy exhibition. Since the idea took root, he collected thirty dead birdswith permission from the Forestry Department. The carcasses of these protected birds would’ve been burnt which is normally how they are discarded – but Dr. Zitzer decided to put them to good use. To prepare them, he removed their entrails and stuffed them – preserving them through a process called taxidermy. He says he wanted the birds to look like living creatures – and if you feel them staring back at you – don’t be spooked– those are just glass eyes installed to make the birds look real.
Stephen Zitzer
Dr. Stephen Zitzer, Taxidermist
“The most important thing is when a bird dies, is to dry it and put it in a freezer so that insects don’t get it and it starts decomposing. Once that is done, when I get it, it takes from a small bird three to four hours and to a large one up to ten to twelve hours. It is a process where I use preservative powder which is non-toxic. I turn the whole bird inside out. In the inside, I put newspaper, wire and the most expensive thing is the glass eyes. The most important thing is to make the eyes look good so it looks more alive. The other artistic part of it is that I find nice pieces of wood – I am a bird watcher so I know the poses of the birds that they look like to make them more natural. Because they are all injured, the challenge for me is to hide the bad parts.”
As a part of the education – these birds will remain on display for six months at the Museum of Belize where local schools and tourists alike can learn more about the rich history and growing birding conservation in Belize. Director Alexis Salazar of NICH, who has responsibility for the museum, says this taxidermy exhibit adds another unique offering.
Alexis Salazar
Alexis Salazar, Director, Museum of Belize
“We have been doing quite a lot of education outreach before the actual opening; getting students to know more about birds in Belize. We are going to do another session with Dr. Zitzer at the Streets Art Festival and so we have a plan to go out and do education about birds and then also have the exhibit here where schools can come in and view the new exhibit. It complements our insects of Belize. So, I can boast now that we have a natural history wing now. If you go to other museums – there are some solely dedicated to natural history. Kids, they are just naturally interested in birds and coming and seeing it.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
