Care and Safety

Is It Illegal to Keep a Bird Feather You Found?

In the United States, yes for almost every native bird, molted feathers included. Canada protects a shorter list, England and Wales ask how the feather came to you, and a few feeder birds fall outside the US law.

Yes, in the United States, for almost every native bird, and a feather that simply fell off counts. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act makes it unlawful to possess any part of a protected bird without a permit, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service's forensics laboratory says "there is no exemption for molted feathers or those taken from road- or window-killed birds."

The exceptions follow the bird, not the feather. House sparrows, European starlings, rock pigeons and Eurasian collared-doves are outside the federal law because they are not native, and wild turkeys are not on the list. Everything else at a typical feeder, grackles and cowbirds and the hawk that hunts them included, is protected. Canada protects a shorter list, and England and Wales let you keep a feather if you can show the bird was not killed or taken.

What the US law actually says#

16 U.S.C. 703(a) makes it unlawful to "possess" a migratory bird and extends that to "any part, nest, or egg of any such bird." The regulations repeat it: a migratory bird is any bird of a listed species "including any part, nest, or egg" (50 CFR 10.12). A feather is a part, and neither text asks how you came by it.

The Service's Feather Atlas says the ban "extends to all feathers, regardless of how they were obtained," because it "protects wild birds by preventing their killing by collectors and the commercial trade in their feathers." The species list is at 50 CFR 10.13; the Service describes the Act as protecting "over 1,100 species of birds." At a feeder that is nearly everything native: chickadees, nuthatches, woodpeckers, finches, sparrows, cardinals, jays, doves, orioles, hummingbirds, and the hawks that hunt them.

A misdemeanor violation carries a fine of up to $15,000, up to six months in prison, or both (16 U.S.C. 707(a)). Eagles carry a second statute on top: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 668) bans possessing either eagle "alive or dead, or any part, nest, or egg thereof," at up to $5,000 and one year for a first conviction and $10,000 and two years for a second.

Feeder birds, US and Canada side by side#

The US column is checked against the species table in 50 CFR 10.13. The Canada column is checked against Environment and Climate Change Canada's 2024 list of birds protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 and its note on families outside federal jurisdiction.

Two rows run against intuition. The collared-dove is introduced in both countries. US law applies only to species "native to the United States or its territories" (16 U.S.C. 703(b)), but Canada says three introduced species, the mute swan, Eurasian collared-dove and sky lark, "continue to appear on the MBCA list" until it has consulted the provinces about removing them.

The jay, blackbird and hawk rows go the other way: a blue jay feather that needs a permit in Ohio is outside federal law in Ontario. Canada says birds generally not under federal jurisdiction include "hawks, owls, eagles, falcons, cormorants, pelicans, crows, jays, kingfishers, and some species of blackbirds." That does not make them unprotected; the same page says birds are also protected under provincial and territorial statutes. We did not read those, so the table stops at "check provincial law."

Why "only eagle feathers are illegal" keeps circulating#

You will hear that every feather is illegal, or that only eagle feathers are. For the US the first is much closer. The eagle act is a second layer with heavier penalties, not the only law; a cardinal feather is caught by the same possession ban, through the word "part." "Every feather" overstates it only at the edges: the introduced species above, poultry (not on the list), and, says the Feather Atlas, captive-raised cage birds such as parrots, macaws and pheasants.

The belief that molted feathers are fine has a likely source: it is close to the rule in England and Wales, and advice written there travels. The US Service rejects it in so many words.

Canada: a shorter list, the same rule for parts#

For the birds it covers, Canada reads like the US. The Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 defines a migratory bird to include "parts of the bird," and section 5 says that "except as authorized by the regulations, no person shall, without lawful excuse, (a) be in possession of a migratory bird or nest." Asked in its own FAQ whether a robin that died of natural causes can be mounted and kept, Environment and Climate Change Canada answers "No" without a federal permit.

Section 11 of the Migratory Birds Regulations, 2022 lets anyone "temporarily" possess a migratory bird found dead to dispose of it or get it to a lab. That covers bagging a dead songbird. It does not cover keeping its wing. Which species to expect is in the feeding guide for Canada.

England and Wales: keep it if you can show how you got it#

Section 1(2) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence to possess "any live or dead wild bird or any part of, or anything derived from, such a bird," with no native-species carve-out. Section 1(3) is the escape: you are not guilty if you show "the bird or egg had not been killed or taken, or had been lawfully killed or taken," or that it was lawfully sold. A feather dropped by a living bird qualifies, but the wording puts the showing on you.

Selling is separate. Section 6(2) makes it an offence to sell or offer for sale "any dead wild bird" outside Schedule 3, "or any part of, or anything derived from, such a wild bird." Scotland has its own version of section 1; we quote the England and Wales text.

What to do with a feather in your yard#

1. Identify the bird. The Service's Feather Atlas has scanned feathers to compare against, and our feeder bird identification guides cover who is likely in your yard. If you cannot tell, treat it as protected.
2. Native bird in the US: photograph it and leave it. Without a permit that is the only option.
3. House sparrow, starling, rock pigeon, or a collared-dove in the US: federal law does not stop you. State or provincial law may.
4. A pile of feathers usually means a kill. The bird most likely to be standing on one is a Cooper's hawk; what to do about a hawk at your feeder is in hawks at the bird feeder.
5. A dead bird is a disposal question. Gloves or an inverted bag, double-bag it, wash your hands, as in why doves are dying under your feeder. Several dead birds, or a dead raptor or waterfowl, means report it and do not handle, as in avian flu and feeders. Glass kills are covered in preventing window strikes.
6. A live bird missing feathers goes to a rehabilitator. See what to do with an injured bird.
7. Nests count too. The US and Canadian acts both name nests; clearing a used box is covered in nest boxes.

For a classroom or research collection, the Feather Atlas says to apply for permits from both the Fish and Wildlife Service and your state wildlife agency.

Who else may keep feathers in the US#

Hunters. Feathers of legally hunted waterfowl and other migratory game birds are excepted. 50 CFR 20.91 lets anyone possess and sell hunted duck, goose, brant and swan feathers for fishing flies, pillows and mattresses, but not for millinery or ornamental use.

Tribal members. Registered members of federally recognized tribes may possess native bird feathers, eagles included, for cultural and religious use, and may not sell them; new eagle feathers come from the National Eagle Repository. A September 2024 Service fact sheet cites the "Morton Policy" and a 2012 Attorney General's memorandum, and says the Service is reviewing the rules, including "who can pick up molted feathers?"

When this page does not apply#

• State and provincial law. We read the federal rules only. In Canada, hawks, owls, eagles, jays and crows are a provincial question. For turkeys, the local rules are in is it illegal to feed wild turkeys.
• Foreign birds. The US act does not reach non-North American birds, but the Feather Atlas says CITES covers all birds of prey and almost all parrots.
• Selling. Everything above is about keeping. Selling a protected bird's feather needs authorization in the US and Canada, and is a separate offence in England and Wales.
• Change. The Service's 2024 review was still at consultation in that document, and the 2024 Canadian list is the latest we found.

Where non-native status matters beyond feathers, see starlings at the feeder.