-- HUMMINGBIRD Q & A --
Dead Hummingbirds #1

• Hummingbirds die in many ways, including being taken by predators (particularly free-roaming domestic cats), flying into stationary objects (especially windows and buildings), getting hit by vehicles, encountering problems during migration or bad weather, succumbing to disease or other physical maladies, or just dying of old age. Males apparently do not live as long as females--imagine the energy a male hummingbird expends in just one season defending it feeding territory!--and the majority of young birds do not make it through their first winter.
• It is against federal, state, or provincial laws in the United States, Canada, and some other countries to possess any wild migratory bird (dead or alive), its feathers, bones, nest, or eggs. This, of course, includes Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris), which are Neotropical migrants. If you have a dead bird of any species, immediately wrap it in one layer of paper towel, being careful to keep the feathers as smooth and unruffled as possible. Put the wrapped bird in a zip-locking plastic bag, and then double-bag it with another. Make sure there is a tag in the bag with the time, date, and place where you found the bird. Place the bagged bird in your freezer and call your local college or university biology department, or a nearby museum.
• If the dead bird is banded, report it immediately to the federal Bird Banding Laboratory at 1-800-327-BAND or via its Web site at http://www.reportband.gov.
• Good, intact bird specimens are almost always welcome for research and teaching collections. If there's no institution nearby, contact your local wildlife rehabilitator for information about other possibilities. A list of rehabilitators in the United States, Canada, and some other countries is at: http://www.tc.umn.edu/~devo0028/contact.htm. If you can't find an authorized institution or individual to take the bird from you, you must dispose of it by burying it or giving it to your local animal control agency for incineration or burial. Rather than illegally keeping a hummingbird nest, give it to a museum or college so that hundreds--even thousands--of students or visitors can benefit. Hilton Pond Center would be glad to accept the donation of a nest if no local recipient can be found; please contact us for shipping information.
  
  

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