Difference between revisions of "Ornithology Collections: Specimen Donation and Tracking"
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| 3-Jul-00 || Warbler || undet. Passeri || 3 || fair || loc. || Frozen | | 3-Jul-00 || Warbler || undet. Passeri || 3 || fair || loc. || Frozen | ||
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| 31-Dec-93 || Sharp Shinned Hawk || Accipiter striatus || 2 || good || loc. || In Rubega lab | | 31-Dec-93 || Sharp Shinned Hawk || Accipiter striatus || 2 || good || loc. || In Rubega lab | ||
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Revision as of 21:19, 9 November 2010
Collection Manager: Susan Hochgraf
Office: BioPhysics 127
Office Phone: 486-8945
Email: susan.hochgraf@uconn.edu
Preparators: Alejandro Rico Guevara, Jorge deLeon, Margaret Rubega
What To Do If You Find a Dead Bird, and Want to Donate It to the UConn Research Collection
Our collection of bird skins, tissues and bones is currently growing largely through salvage: we accept birds found dead by members of the public. These specimens add to the "library of birdlife" we maintain. Your donations make it possible for future researchers to investigate the bird populations of Connecticut.
If you find a dead bird, the very first thing to do is to determine if it is fresh enough to make a useful specimen. A bird that hasn't been dead for long will be round, not flattened or sagging; the eyes will be full and still moist; the feathers will not fall out when you handle the bird; the body will not smell. In contrast, a specimen that has already begun to decay will be collapsed, and may be oozing fluids; the eyes will be sunken and dry-looking; the feathers will be loosely attached and fall out easily when tugged, or when you handle the bird; there may be insects (ants, maggots) on or in the specimen; and the body will smell bad.
Specimens showing advanced signs of decay are best left where they are. Specimens in good condition should be sealed in a plastic bag (a ziploc with the air squeezed out of it is ideal) with a note containing the following information: your name and contact information; the location (at least town) where the bird was found; the date; and any information you may have about the bird (e.g., how it died - "Hit a window"). If you have the means to measure the bird's weight at the time you picked it up, that information is also very helpful. Once the bird is sealed in a plastic bag, PUT IT IN THE FREEZER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Freezing the body arrests the process of decay, and maximizes the likelihood we can prepare the specimen in a way that will preserve it.
The collection manager works part time (one day per week); she is in the collection on Thursdays. Accordingly, Thursdays are the best days to bring a specimen you wish to donate to the collection. You can call the manager at 860-486-8945 to ensure that someone will be present to take the specimen from you at the time you are due to arrive. If you cannot bring your donation by on a Thursday, contact someone in the Rubega lab at 486-3839 or 486-0309 to arrange a meeting to drop the specimen off.
Inventory of Donated Specimens
(as specimens are prepared, they will move off this list and onto the collection database )
Date Donated | Common name | Species | Prep Priority Score | Condition / Comments | Data | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul-10 | House Sparrow | Passer domesticus | 1 | good | yes |
Frozen |
31-Aug-08 | Cooper's Hawk | Accipiter cooperi | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
24-May-08 | Barred Owl | Strix varia | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
5-Mar-08 | American Kestrel | Falco sparverius | 1 | good | yes | In Rubega lab |
24-Jan-08 | Cooper's Hawk | Accipiter cooperi | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
1-Jan-08 | Eastern Screech-Owl (Grey) | Otus asio | 2 | good | yes | Drying |
22-Dec-07 | Canada Goose | Branta canadensis | 1 | good | loc. | Frozen |
22-Dec-07 | Barred Owl | Strix varia | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
16-Nov-07 | Hawk | Accipiter | 2 | good | yes | Frozen |
23-Sep-07 | Sharp Shinned Hawk | Accipiter striatus | 2 | good | yes | In Rubega lab |
30-Aug-07 | Monk Parakeet | Myiopsitta monachus | 1 | good | yes | In Rubega lab |
Jun-06 | Juv. Wild Turkey | Meleagris gallopavo | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
14-Oct-05 | Hairy Woodpecker | Picoides villosus | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
29-Oct-04 | Barred Owl | Strix varia | 1 | good | yes | Frozen |
29-May-02 | Northern Waterthrush | Seiurus noveboracensis | 1 | good | loc. | Frozen |
20-Apr-02 | Wren (carolina?) | Thryothorus ludovicianus | 1 | good | loc. | Frozen |
25-Jul-01 | Great Blue Heron | Ardea herodias | 2 | xgood | loc. | Frozen |
3-Jul-00 | Warbler | undet. Passeri | 3 | fair | loc. | Frozen |
31-Dec-93 | Sharp Shinned Hawk | Accipiter striatus | 2 | good | loc. | In Rubega lab |
- | Owl (Grt. Horned?) | Bubo virginianus | 2 | fair | - | Frozen |
- | Peep? | undet. Charadiiformes | 3 | fair/poor | - | Frozen |
- | Ring-necked Dove | Streptopelia capicola | 1 | good | - | Frozen |
- | Tree Swallow | Tachycineta bicolor | 1 | good | - | Drying |
- | Wren (carolina?) | Thryothorus ludovicianus | 1 | good | - | Frozen |
- | Chimney Swift | Chaetura pelagica | 1 | good | - | In Rubega lab |
- | Great Horned Owl | Bubo virginianus | 2 | good | - | Frozen |
- | Sharp Shinned Hawk | Accipiter striatus | 2 | good | - | Frozen |
- | Coopers Hawk | Accipiter cooperii | 3 | good | - | Frozen |