rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) (03/31/88)
One of the things that can be done with a dead bird is to
pick it up, note the date and locality found, put it in a
plastic bag, pop it into your freezer, and take it to the
nearest museum (with a bird collection) so that they might
be able to preserve it for future study.
I realize that this is not always possible or is more trouble
than it is worth in some cases, but museums generally are
happy to receive new material in this way (depending on what
the bird is **and** the quality of the info about it, e.g.
date and locality). I have argued earlier that it is often
necessary to collect new material for some research, but the
need for this is, naturally, decreased if researchers can use
salvaged birds. These days I'd bet that museums salvage more
stuff than they actively obtain.
I know that the Royal Ontario Museum (with which I am associated)
has salvaged hundreds of birds, including huge numbers killed in
migration by flying into buildings and smokestacks. I have
personally measred 100s of these salvaged birds for my research--so
they are not useless. There is also a limit to what and how many
they can use or handle (takes time to prepare and maintain each)--but
all other things being equal, take them the birds and let them
decide whether or not they want it.
--Jim Rising
--
Name: Jim Rising
Mail: Dept. Zoology, Univ. Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 1A1
UUCP: {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!risingmjm@oliven.olivetti.com (Michael Mammoser) (04/01/88)
In article <1988Mar31.125547.10118@utzoo.uucp>, rising@utzoo.uucp (Jim Rising) writes: > One of the things that can be done with a dead bird is to > pick it up, note the date and locality found, put it in a > plastic bag, pop it into your freezer, and take it to the > nearest museum (with a bird collection) so that they might > be able to preserve it for future study. Many migratory birds are protected under federal law. Wouldn't one need a license to collect specimens? Looking and listing, Mike