Where can I ID a skull?

[MadCheshire13]

We found this skull up on Mingus Mountain and are trying to identify it.

[Alston_Neal]

Ya I didn't include the MBTA of 1918 so as not to confuse the issue. We are very much tied to this since our biz is Native American based. What makes MBTA more interesting is it's legal to hunt birds like doves, but illegal to have feathers.

[MadCheshire13]

@flagscott
I emailed the US Fish & Wildlife Service about collecting feathers for my hiking journal or making a charm for my bags. I wouldn't want to get in trouble!

[Alston_Neal]

@MadCheshire13
There are sites out there that will list the legal/illegal feathers. Many artists Native American and others use feathers in their art, so lots of info on the web.

[flagscott]

@flagscott
I emailed the US Fish & Wildlife Service about collecting feathers for my hiking journal or making a charm for my bags. I wouldn't want to get in trouble!

I studied birds for a long time, and there were periods when my freezer had more dead birds than food items. But since I was doing research at a university at the time, I doubt anyone would've cared.

As for your feathers, personally, I would say you're okay as long as you're not distributing or selling anything. But I'll be curious to hear what FWS say. What sort of woodpecker was it? I was wearing a black and white acorn woodpecker feather on a hike not so long ago. The red-shafted feathers from flickers are really nice, but I don't see them often even though Flagstaff is full of flickers.

[MadCheshire13]

@flagscott
It's from a Northern Red-shafted flicker.

[chumley]

This news is all very disconcerting to me as I had already started collecting feathers for my hat for next year's derby!

[Alston_Neal]

@MadCheshire13
Protected...Hopis use these in their Pahos...prayer bundles.
Scroll to the bottom to legal status.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/woodpeckers.html

[Alston_Neal]

I have laminated sheets of bird feathers from the Dept. of the Interior and Red Shafted Flicker feathers are in it. Along with White Wing dove feathers, which one can hunt. Go figure.

[JasonCleghorn]

Occasionally FWS gives permits for tribes to kill eagles, but not often--there just aren't enough eagles left for people to be killing them for any reason.

You learn something new every day...