Taxidermist in demand for his ability to make bird replicas lifelike

Igor Caragodin sews up a torn portion of the salted skin of the Abyssinian roller.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Dressed in medical scrubs, Igor Caragodin blowdries the salted skin of a warbling vireo specimen at his taxidermy garage studio.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin combs the feathers of the mounted Warbling Vireo specimen into place before allowing the skin to dry.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

A mounted specimen of a Abyssinian roller.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

A mounted specimen of a MacGillivray’s warbler.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin pulls a common murre from a freezer to advise on the types of birds available to mount in a diorama in the Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Dressed in his preferred work uniform, medical scrubs, taxidermist Igor Caragodin adjusts the wire frame inside the wings and feet of a mounted warbling vireo specimen to shape it inside his garage studio in Long Beach.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin’s specimens have won awards at international taxidermy competitions. Above, a Virginia rail bird.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin, pushes the skin around the artificial eyes on the mounted specimen of an Abyssinian roller bird from the west African nation of Burkino Faso.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin adjusts the skin of a mounted warbling vireo specimen before allowing it to dry in his Long Beach studio.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin photographs birds during his leisurely bird-watching trip through the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach. He applies his study of bird anatomy in his taxidermy craft.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Long Beach taxidermist Igor Caragodin’s garage studio is filled with the tools of his trade and some of the awards his bird specimens have won.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin fine-tunes the feathers on an Abyssinian roller bird in his Long Beach studio. Museums send him on expense-paid trips around the world to find birds for their collections.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin takes a break from working inside his garage studio and relaxes next to the koi pond in his backyard.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin blow drys the salted skin of an Abyssinian roller bird specimen.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Using tweezers, Igor Caragodin gently adjusts the skin of a mounted Virginia rail bird before pinning it in and allowing it to dry.  (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

Igor Caragodin’s mounted specimens bound for the Warren Wildlife Gallery in Austin, Texas, are a green-headed sunbird, left, olive-bellied sunbird, and Splendid sunbird.   (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)