"Research on textual and pictorial sources from the period 1200 - 1700, especially in Central Europe, has revealed the existence of considerably more and earlier examples of bird collections than previously suspected, as well as of a variety of motivations and manual skills required for the preserving of birds prior to 1600. Many 16th century natural history cabinets contained large numbers of mounted birds, often of exotic species. This has been documented in some inventories, e. g., that of the cabinet of arts of Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg. ... Sources from fields that have been neglected in the past, such as bird-trapping, hunting, and folklore, have supplied further examples. Avian taxidermy is referred to as early as in the treatise on falconry of Emperor Friedrich II of Hohenstaufen, written before 1248. Decoys used in bird-trapping were commonly stuffed specimens, and as such are mentioned around 1300 and 1450." - publisher

Language: English