Aix Taxidermy

Aix Taxidermy Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Aix Taxidermy, Taxidermist, 5 Freedom Way, Niantic, CT.
(1)

We specialize in avian taxidermy commissions tailored to your individual taste and the character of your home or office, with craftsmanship informed by a deep understanding of each species’ natural history and the unique story behind its collection.

09/03/2026

Oldsquaw!

09/03/2026

Almost there. Lots of babysitting in the coming days to properly accommodate all that saggy skin typical of sea ducks.

12-pound Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).Big birds are always challenging, and the extra effort can make it easy to ove...
09/01/2026

12-pound Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).

Big birds are always challenging, and the extra effort can make it easy to overlook the details.

This Common Raven (Corvus corax) was found dead on the grounds of a quarry last March. It was fully plumaged, but its ov...
08/31/2026

This Common Raven (Corvus corax) was found dead on the grounds of a quarry last March. It was fully plumaged, but its overall appearance suggested a relatively young bird, likely a subadult.

Winter can be a particularly demanding time for wild birds, especially during the first years of their lives. This individual also showed lesions consistent with avian pox, a viral disease known to affect wild birds in Connecticut and documented in Common Ravens. Whether the disease contributed to its death remains an open question, particularly because the bird also had several puncture wounds on the head, apparently caused by a predator.

Whatever circumstances brought its life to an end, it is now preserved to be appreciated for years to come at the Willington Public Library in Connecticut.

Just a reminder: Common Ravens, like other protected nongame migratory birds, cannot legally be kept simply because they are found dead. Every year, we receive several calls from people who have found dead hawks, owls, and other protected birds and would like to preserve them. Unfortunately, individuals cannot simply keep these birds in the United States, as they are strictly protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Permanent possession of such specimens requires the appropriate state and federal authorization and is generally limited to qualifying public, scientific, or educational institutions and other entities or individuals holding the appropriate federal permit. The taxidermist responsible for mounting them must also be federally permitted to handle and temporarily possess protected migratory birds.

If you find a bird that may be worth preserving, the best first step is to contact your state wildlife agency. They can advise you on the legal requirements and the appropriate way to proceed.

08/30/2026

Finally, here's where that intriguing "device" ended up.

Common Raven (Corvus corax).

This piece will be permanently exhibited at the Willington Public Library in Willington, Connecticut. A sequence of photos accompanying its story is coming soon.

Mounting Permit #2602.

08/29/2026

Atlantic brant in progress.

Diving Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator). Base provided by the client.Do mergansers use their wings underwater?Me...
08/28/2026

Diving Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus serrator). Base provided by the client.

Do mergansers use their wings underwater?

Merganser mounts are often depicted with the wings partially open underwater. As members of the tribe Mergini, alongside eiders, scoters, harlequins, and long-tailed ducks, all of which are known to use their wings underwater, it seems reasonable to expect mergansers to do the same.

However, when we received this commission, we found surprisingly little evidence supporting that idea. Most sources describe mergansers as behaving more like diving ducks (e.g., Redhead, Canvasback, and Bluebills), relying primarily on their powerful feet for underwater propulsion.

Digging deeper, however, revealed a more nuanced story. Historical observations dating back more than a century (Vaughan & Jones, 1913; Bent, 1923) describe Red-breasted Mergansers occasionally opening their wings while submerged. More recently, Sjöberg (1988) noted how rare this behavior is in mergansers, and Lapsansky & Armstrong (2022) documented Common Mergansers actively using their wings during an underwater pursuit of a fish.

Finally, after carefully reviewing dozens of underwater videos, we found only a single sequence in which a Red-breasted Merganser briefly opened its wings while chasing a fish and appeared to use them to assist propulsion underwater (See the footage in slow motion at 0:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ultt6QhKU0w).

So, the evidence seems to provide an answer. Although only occasionally, both Red-breasted and Common Mergansers are capable of opening and even using their wings to propel themselves underwater.

When birds open their mouths, the floor of the mouth and throat drop and expand as the hyoid apparatus and associated mu...
08/28/2026

When birds open their mouths, the floor of the mouth and throat drop and expand as the hyoid apparatus and associated musculature move with the gape. This is what gives an open-mouth bird that characteristic fuller, expanded look through the throat and gular region, something that many commercial open-mouth heads fail to reproduce.

Make sure you recreate that change in anatomy if you want your open-mouth mounts to look accurate and realistic.

08/27/2026

Hand-sculpted rockweed (Fucus vesiculosus) for our next project.

08/26/2026

Common eider in progress.

Address

5 Freedom Way
Niantic, CT
06357

Opening Hours

Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Aix Taxidermy posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Aix Taxidermy:

Shortcuts

Share

Category