FRESH TISSUE & ROAD KILL/PREDATOR KILL
(1) If you find any dead birds or body parts, put them in a zip lock bag and take it back to the field house. Label the bag with the bird identification number (if known - if not, label as unknown), sex (if known), location, date, and cause of death (if known). Keep it as cool as possible and out of the sun!
(2) For body parts (birds killed by a predator), store in the freezer in a zip lock bag.
• If you want the body for WNV testing, please do the following before you freeze the bird:
- cut off one toe, put the toe in a microcentrifuge tube, put the tube in the freezer, and put the bird back in the bag and store in the freezer
- pluck 10 contour (body) feathers from the bird and place in a small labeled envelope
(3) For whole birds, store in the freezer in a zip lock bag
• If you want the body for WNV testing, please do the following before you freeze the bird
- cut off one toe, put the toe in a microcentrifuge tube, put the tube in the freezer, and put the bird back in the bag and store in the freezer
- pluck 10 contour (body) feathers from the bird and place in a small labeled envelope
(4) If the sample is mainly bone and feathers (little tissue - e.g. road kill, old predator kill), and it is unusable for WNV testing, place the bones, feathers, and small amounts of tissue in a labeled envelope. Store at room temperature.