(Good advice on picking up feathers, dead birds, etc. deleted)
Chris goes on to add:

> OK, so maybe you want to donate that window banger or road kill. The
> most important thing you can do, from the museum's point of view is
> include the DATA with the specimen. This is very simple: write down
> three things: the DATE the bird was found, the LOCATION it was found and
***********
> the name of the COLLECTOR (you). Any other information is also welcome,
> though not essential. It is best not to jump to any conclusions - write
> "dead on road" instead of "hit by car" unless you *know* it was hit.
> Don't be afraid to put down a tentative ID. Mistakes can be corrected
> later.


I am currently on a project that is using museum records to map range
limits of mammals and herps. (We used the Washington Breeding Bird
Atlas for birds.) I can personally testify to the tremendous value of museum
records. However, I wanted to emphasize that, if you do salvage a road
kill, be sure to *unambiguously* and *precisely* note where you found it.
The two biggest failings of museum records (from our perspective) were poor
location data and lack of info about the habitat the animal was found in.
Too often the location is something like:
'Okanogan County' (Okanogan Co is pretty big.)
'Ten miles from Seattle (In which direction? Ten miles from the
center or the city limits?)
'30 mi west of Aberdeen' (That's in the ocean, and the specimen is, say,
a small mammal.)
'McKinley's Pond' (McKinley is deceased and the pond, whereever it is,
now has another name.)

So, when recording location, if possible, record Township/Range/Section,
if the area is a state with a T/R grid. Include quarter section if you
can. Also include any other unambiquous location data that could
narrow it down to a particular location. Be careful not to
confuse East, West, North, and South. If you find it on a Forest
Service Road, include the FR number, but include other info as well!
The FR numbers change and tracking down the old numbers is very difficult,
if not impossible. Avoid using local place designations. If you do
specify, e.g. 'Gold Hill' add more information about where this 'Gold Hill'
is; There are about 5 'Gold Hills' or Gold Mtns' in Idaho, and a few more in
in WA.

(And let me reiterate that if you get caught w/a game animal and no
hunting license or an endangered animal and no collecting permit, you
will be in big trouble. Don't collect a dead grizzly.)

Kelly Cassidy
U of WA, Seattle
kelly at u.washington.edu