#AUTOMATON BIRD HOW TO#

We only use the centre of the feather, where the fibre is iridescent from top to bottom, and we leave the central spine on. The first step is to choose the right feathers and strip off any down and defective rear fibres. I am currently using peacock and pheasant feathers, from different parts of their bodies, but these are enormous for miniatures, so it is necessary to follow a procedure to fit these big iridescent feathers to the tiny body of the bird. In the case of miniature singing bird boxes with hummingbird feathers, made for example by Bruguier, Rochat, Frisard or Griesbaum, it is much more complicated. In some cases, I have had to dye them with aniline dyes for the big birds in cages, and it has not been difficult to get the desired effect. Over the years, I have perfected a method for replacing the plumage on miniature birds, by using the available feathers that I have been collecting.

When we have to glue one very big feather to metal, instead of a number of them, and have it keep its shape and colour, it is really complicated.

#AUTOMATON BIRD HOW TO#

I have been a fly fisherman for many years and I tie my own flies, so I know how to handle feathers and many tricks for tying different types of feathers to a hook. When looking for iridescent feathers, there are very few options, and their size is out of proportion to the size of the bird. Unfortunately, hummingbird feathers are not among them, and the size is much bigger than the feathers originally used. It is necessary to alter the feathers that are legally traded on the market today. When looking for iridescent feathers, there are very few options, and the size is out of proportion to the size of the bird. With large birds it is not a great problem but when you have a bird with movements 1 cm long, it is impossible today, and it is also a crime, to use hummingbird feathers, which are the iridescent feathers originally used on these automatons. It is really difficult to solve the problem of putting feathers on an automaton bird.

Automaton bird