rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (09/15/89)
Almost all wild birds are protected (exceptions are house sparrow, starling, & pigeon), so if you do pick one up (in the US) you should take it to the nearest federal game protector (if it is a migratory species). This is generally a pain in the neck. I'd recommend that you note where and when you found the bird, write it on a piece of paper and pop the bird in a plastic bag and put it in your freezer. Ultimately, take your salvaged birds to the nearest natural history museum where they might be able to put them to some scientific use. Generally there is someone at such a museum with a salvage license. Also, I think that anyone with a banding license can legally salvage a dead bird. I think that the hawk silhouettes really do work. In the building where I work there are glassed in stainwells, and in the past many birds would kill themselves on these during migration. Not uncommonly I would find several birds in a single day. I was frankly skeptical about the silhouettes, but finally bought some and put them up. Sub- sequently (for about the last 10 years!) very few birds have hit the building. I've had similar experiences at our cottage, though not with so much contrast, perhaps because we put up silhouettes shortly after purchasing it. I think that nocturnal migrants generally fly considerably higher than a 2-story building, but your Cape May Warbler probably flew into a window during the daylight (yes, nocturnally migrating dickey birds do put down during the day). Apparently, birds either can see through a building (if there is glass on both sides of the building, as was the case with our building) or see the reflection of a tree (or something) and fly to it--bang. --Jim Rising -- Name: Jim Rising Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1 UUCP: uunet!attcan!utzoo!rising BITNET: rising@utzoo.utoronto.bitnet