Ornithology Collections: Specimen Donation and Tracking

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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 to ORN cabinet good some Collections
19-Apr-2011 Chipping Sparrow Spizella passerina Freeze Cycle fair some Collections
15-Nov-2011 Ovenbird Seiurus aurocapillus Freeze Cyce fair some Collections
W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis In Progress (???) skin only some Collections
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor Drying in Hood good no Collections
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus 3 good no Collections
Common Loon Gavia immer In Progress (LH) 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's Sparrow Melospiza lincolnii save for JDL good yes Collections
7-Jul-2011 Gray Catbird Dumetella carolinensis accessioned fair yes Collections
16-Sep-2011 Eastern Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus accessioned good yes Collections
18-Dec-1996 Evening Grosbeak Coccothraustes vespertinus 1 fair yes Collections
19-Dec-1996 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis 3 fair yes Collections
20-Dec-1996 Veery Catharus fuscescens Freeze Cycle (Wings) good yes Collections
21-Dec-1996 Nighthawk Chordeiles minor 1 good yes Collections
28-May-2011 Wood Thrush (young) Hylocichla mustelina moved to? good some Collections
18-Mar-2011 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens 2 good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens Drying in Hood good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Baltimore Oriole Icterus galbula in Progress (M.A.) good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata to ORN cabinet good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata to ORN cabinet good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 Hermit Thrush Catharus ustulatus to ORN cabinet wing prep only yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis 2 good yes Collections
31-Mar-2011 W.T. Sparrow Zonotrichia albicollis to ORN cabinet 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 Melospiza melodia Drying in Hood good yes Collections
6-Sep-2011 Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus Drying in Hood good no Collections
6-Sep-2011 Northern Flicker Colaptes auratus Drying in Hood good no Collections
9-Sep-2011 Eastern Bluebird Silalia sialis to where? good yes Collections
22-Sep-2011 Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina accessioned 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 ludovicianus 1 good some TLS
29-Oct-2002 Barred Owl Strix varia 1 good some TLS
14-Oct-2005 Hairy Woodpecker Picoides villosus 1 good yes TLS
16-Oct-2007  ?Hawk? Accipiter ?? In Progress (???) good yes TLS
6-Jun-2008 Juv. Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo 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 Megascops asio 3 good yes Collections, for NP
17-May-2010 American Redstart Setophaga ruticilla 1 good yes TLS
18-Jun-2010 Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens 2 good yes TLS
29-Jun-2010 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Sphyrapicus varius 1 good yes TLS
11-Jun-2011 Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis 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 Pheucticus ludovicianus 3 good no Rubega
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus 3 good no Rubega
Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus in progress -N.P. good no prep lab
Juv. Red-bellied Woodpecker Melanerpes carolinus 3 good no Rubega
Tufted Titmouse Baeolophus bicolor In Progress (N.P.) good no Rubega
Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica 3 good no Rubega
Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens 3 good no Rubega
Wood Thrush Hylocichla mustelina 3 good some Rubega
Carolina Wren Thryothorus ludovicianus 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 in progress-JDL good yes prep lab
1-May-2008 Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia 1 good yes Rubega
10-Jul-2009  ?Warbler? good yes Rubega
20-Jul-2009 Rose-breasted Grosebeak Pheucticus ludovicianus 2 good yes Rubega
20-Aug-2009 Cooper's Hawk Accipiter cooperii 1 good yes Rubega
7-Sep-2009 American Goldfinch Carduelis 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 Zonotrichia albicollis 2 good yes Rubega
25-Nov-2009 Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea 2 good yes Rubega
7-Jan-2010 Eastern Screech Owl Megascops asio 3 good yes Rubega
29-Jan-2010 Sharp-shinned Hawk Accipiter striatus 3 good yes Rubega
2-Feb-2010 Song Sparrow Melospiza melodia 1 good yes Rubega
11-May-2010 Black-and-white Warbler Mniotilta varia 1 good yes Rubega
6-Jul-2010 Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus for JDL 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 pubescens 3 good yes Rubega
27-Nov-2010 Golden-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
10-Sep-2011 American Robin, young Turdus migratorius to ORN cabinet good yes Collections
spring 2011 Empidonax sp. Empidonax flycatcher for JDL good yes collections
Sep 2011 Ruby-throated Hummingbird Archilochus colubris for Alejandro okay yes Collections
Nov 28 2011 Cedar Waxwing Bombycilla cedrorum six birds good yes Rubega