The methods used to preserve bird skins in museums have a potentially crucial impact on the feasibility and use of these specimens as a source of biological knowledge, although this subject is rarely broached. Study skins of birds are usually prepared with folded wings and straight legs to facilitate storage in the collection; yet, this method can hamper the measurement and examination of certain important features such as wing-feather moult. To make consultation easier for ornithologists, alternative preparation methods such as the splitting of wings and tarsi from the rest of the animal have been proposed by curators. Our aim was to study whether or not preparing bird specimens with spread limbs makes consultation simpler. First, we used two different methods to prepare two specimens each of two common European passerine species: (1) ‘traditional’ (folded wings and straight tarsi) and (2) ‘spread’ (limbs spread on one side of the body). Then, we asked 22 experienced ornithologists to identify moult limits and take three biometric measurements (wing chord, length of the third primary feather and tarsus length) from all four specimens. Subsequently, we asked which preparation method they preferred for obtaining data. The ‘spread’ preparation was preferred for moult, third primary feather length and tarsus length, whilst the ‘traditional’ preparation was preferred for wing chord. Data obtained from the folded and spread preparations were very highly repeatable within each method but only moderately to highly repeatable between methods. One of the handicaps with the ‘spread’ preparation is the increase in storage space required, a factor that should be taken into account before it is employed. Nevertheless, this specimen preparation technique can greatly facilitate consultation and therefore improve the scientific value of ornithological collections.

博物馆中用于保护鸟类皮肤的方法可能会对这些标本的可行性和使用产生潜在的关键影响，尽管这些标本很少涉及。鸟类的研究皮通常准备有折叠的翅膀和直的腿，以利于收藏。但是，这种方法可能会妨碍对某些重要特征（如翼羽换羽）的测量和检查。为了使鸟类学家更容易进行咨询，策展人已经提出了替代的制备方法，例如从动物的其余部分分开翅膀和wings子。我们的目的是研究是否准备四肢张开的鸟类标本会使咨询更简单。首先，我们使用两种不同的方法来准备两个常见的欧洲雀形目物种的两个标本：（1）“传统”（折叠的翅膀和笔直的塔西）和（2）“散开”（肢体散布在身体的一侧）。然后，我们要求22位经验丰富的鸟类学家确定换羽极限，并从所有四个标本中进行三个生物测量（翼弦，第三根主要羽毛的长度和架长度）。随后，我们询问他们首选哪种制备方法来获取数据。对于换羽，第三主羽长度和节长度，首选“撒布”制剂，而对于翼弦，首选“传统”制剂。从折叠和展开制剂获得的数据在每种方法中具有很高的可重复性，但在两种方法之间仅具有中等至高度可重复性。“展开”准备工作的障碍之一是所需存储空间的增加，在使用之前应考虑的因素。但是，这种标本制备技术可以极大地方便咨询，因此可以提高鸟类学收藏的科学价值。