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The theory and procedures for using electrically heated taxidermic mounts to measure the standard operative temperature, T_es, of natural habitats have been examined using the American Goldfinch, Carduelis tristis, T_es is a thermal index directly related to the metabolic requirements of a specific endothermic animal. T_es may be calculated from a thermal energy budget analysis. However, direct measurement of T_es using heated mounts as “environmental temperature thermometers” is simpler and allows measurements in confined spaces, such as nocturnal roots, which are inaccessible to conventional instrumentation. For the goldfinch, heated mounts predict metabolic heating less evaporative cooling with an uncertainty of ±5% for temperatures below the thermal neutral zone and winds of 0−1.5 m/s.