Difference between revisions of "Ornithology Collections: Specimen Donation and Tracking"

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(Inventory of Donated Specimens)
(Inventory of Donated Specimens)
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| 31-Mar-2011 || Blue Jay || Cyancitta cristata || Drying in Hood || good || yes || Collections
 
| 31-Mar-2011 || Blue Jay || Cyancitta cristata || Drying in Hood || good || yes || Collections
 
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| 31-Mar-2011 || Hermit Thrush || Catharus ustulatus || 2 || good || yes || Collections
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| 31-Mar-2011 || Hermit Thrush || Catharus ustulatus || 3 || poor || yes || Collections
 
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| 31-Mar-2011 || W.T. Sparrow || Zonotrichie abicollis || 2 || good || yes || Collections
 
| 31-Mar-2011 || W.T. Sparrow || Zonotrichie abicollis || 2 || good || yes || Collections

Revision as of 17:37, 31 October 2011

Chicken skull.jpg


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
American Woodcock Scolopax minor Drying in Hood good some Collections
Chipping Swallow Spizella Passeria 3 fair some Collections
Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapollis 2 good some Collections
W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichie abicollis In Progress (???) skin only some Collections
Tuffed Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor 3 good no Collections
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus 3 good no Collections
Common Loon Gavia immer 2 good no Collections
16-Apr-2011 Red-Throated Loon Gavia stellata 1 good yes Collections
1-Mar-2011 Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus 2 good yes Collections
27-Dec-2001 ?Loon? Gavia ??? 1 good yes Collections
9-May-2011 Lincoln Sparrow Melospozia lincolnii 1 good yes Collections
7-Jul-2011 Gray Catbird Dumetella Carolinensis 1 fair yes Collections
16-Sep-2011 Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus 2 good yes Collections
18-Dec-1996 Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus 1 fair yes Collections
19-Dec-1996 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichie abicollis 3 fair yes Collections
20-Dec-1996 Veery Catharus fuscens 1 good yes Collections
21-Dec-1996 Nighthawk Chordeiles minor 1 good yes Collections
28-May-2011 Hermit Thrush Catharus ustulatus 2 good some Collections
18-Mar-2011 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pude 2 good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pude Drying in Hood good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbule 2 good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Blue Jay Cyancitta cristata Drying in Hood good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Blue Jay Cyancitta cristata Drying in Hood good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Hermit Thrush Catharus ustulatus 3 poor yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichie abicollis 2 good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichie abicollis Drying in Hood good some Collections
31-Mar-2011 White-Breasted Nuthatch Sitta carolinensis 1 good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Black-Throated Sparrow Amphispiza bilineata 1 good yes Collections
3-Jun-2011 Song Sparrow Melpsoiza melodia 1 good yes Collections
6-Sep-2011 Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicians 3 good no Collections
6-Sep-2011 Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus MISSING good no Collections
9-Sep-2011 Eastern Bluebird Silalia sialis 2 good yes Collections
22-Sep-2011 Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina 2 good yes Collections
Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus In Progress (S.H.) good some TLS
25-Jul-2001 Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias 2 good some TLS
20-Apr-2002 Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicians 1 good some TLS
29-Oct-2002 Barred Owl Strix varia 1 good some TLS
14-Oct-2005 Hairy Woodpecker Picoides pude 1 good yes TLS
16-Oct-2007  ?Hawk? Accipiter ?? In Progress (???) good yes TLS
6-Jun-2008 Juv. Wild Turkey Meleagris gall 1 good yes TLS
30-Dec-2008 Barred Owl Strix varia 1 good yes TLS
24-May-2009 Ring-Necked Pheasant Phasianus colchicus In Progress (S.H.) good yes TLS
17-Feb-2009 Eastern Screech Owl Otus asio 3 good yes TLS
17-May-2010 American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla 1 good yes TLS
18-Jun-2010 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pude 2 good yes TLS
29-Jun-2010 Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius 1 good yes TLS
11-Jun-2011 Red Tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicansis 1 good yes TLS
31-Mar-2011 Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus 1 good yes TLS
Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum 3 good some Rubega
Rose-Breasted Grosebeak Phuecticus ludovicianus 3 good no Rubega
Red-Bellied Woodpecker (2x) Melanerpes carolinus 3 good no Rubega
Juv. Red Bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus 3 good no Rubega
Tuffed Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor 3 good no Rubega
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 3 good no Rubega
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pude 3 good no Rubega
Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina 3 good some Rubega
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicians 3 good no Rubega
Pilated Woodpecker Dryocopus pileatus 3 good some Rubega
28-Dec-1993 Sharp Shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus 3 fair yes Rubega
23-Sept-2007 Juv. Sharp Shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus 2 fair yes Rubega
25-Jan-2008 Northern Saw Whet Owl Aegolius acadicus 1 good yes Rubega
1-May-2008 Black & White Warbler Mniotilla varia 1 good yes Rubega
10-Jul-2009  ?Warbler? good yes Rubega
20-Jul-2009 Rose-Breasted Grosebeak Phuecticus ludovicianus 2 good yes Rubega
20-Aug-2009 Coopers Hawk Accipiter cooperii 1 good yes Rubega
7-Sep-2009 American Gold Finch Caruelis tristis 3 good yes Rubega
29-Sep-2009  ?Warbler? good some Rubega
6-Oct-2009 Yellow Rumped Warbler Dendroica coronata 2 good some Rubega
28-Oct-2009 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichie abicollis 2 good yes Rubega
25-Nov-2009 Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis 2 good yes Rubega
7-Jan-2010 Eastern Screech Owl Otus asio 3 good yes Rubega
29-Jan-2010 Sharp Shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus 3 good yes Rubega
2-Feb-2010 Song Sparrow Melosoiza melodia 1 good yes Rubega
11-May-2010 Black & White Warbler Mniotilla varia 1 good yes Rubega
6-Jul-2010 Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus 1 good yes Rubega
7-Jul-2010  ?Shorebird? good yes Rubega
9-Aug-2010 Northern Waterthrush Seiurus noveboracensis 1 good yes Rubega
3-Oct-2010 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pude 3 good yes Rubega
27-Nov-2010 Gold Crowned Kinglet Regulus satrapa 1 good yes Rubega
19-Jan-2011 American Coot Fulica americana 2 good yes Rubega
19-Jan-2011 Long Tailed Duck Clangula hyemalis 2 good yes Rubega
19-Jan-2011 Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus 2 good yes Rubega
20-Jan-2011 Red-Breasted Merganser Mergus serrator 1 good yes Rubega
22-Jan-2011 Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus 2 good yes Rubega
30-Mar-2011 Rock Dove Columba livia 1 good yes Rubega