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Re: feather ID





> "it is against federal law to have in
> one's possession migratory birds or any parts thereof, including feathers,
> without a federal permit."
>
> I didn't realize Flickers were migratory.

Migratory birds is kind of a misnomer.  The term now includes all native
birds.  Game birds (those that are legally hunted) are excepted from certain
provisions of the law, but not all of them, and only by provision of state
hunting laws.

The reasoning is that most birds (songbirds, raptors, etc.) may not be
hunted at any time.  If you have feathers in your possession, you may have
killed the bird that bore them.  Some feathers actually have a great deal of
monetary value.  If you find a carcass or feathers of certain species, there
is a federal feather repository and other programs (to which I contribute
feathers and carcasses) for such things as native American
cultural/religious use.  It's very tightly regulated.

You can also transfer them to federally permitted facilities such as the
Nat. Hist. Museum.

The regulations are all available online at
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/

Janine Perlman
Hillsborough, NC