Re: feather ID

[stevep@receptor-biol.duke.edu (Stephen J. Perry)]

Wow, I never expected such a lot of responses! I'm glad my little 
find was able to provoke debate, and I learnt a lot about the 
Migratory Bird Treaty Act from all this. I guess to be safe rather 
than sorry, I should "release" my flicker feather back into the wild. 
Shame. Maybe I'll photograph it first... no law against this I hope?

What about feathers from a captive bird? Would this depend on whether 
the bird is a protected species, whether it is captive-bred or taken 
from the wild?

Keep the debate going, this is all fascinating stuff.

Steve Perry