Linda,

I would contact the county health department about the bird. They would
be the folks to test it. Of course, it is now the weekend and may be hard
to get a hold of them. I wish I could say for sure, but what I would do
is put the dead bird in a ziplock bag, maybe double bagged, and stick it
in your freezer until you can get it to the health department. Anyone else?

Rob

--
Rob McNair-Huff <mailto:rob at whiterabbits.com>
White Rabbit Publishing <http://www.whiterabbits.com>
Publisher of Mac Net Journal <http://www.whiterabbits.com/MacNetJournal>
The Equinox Project <http://www.whiterabbits.com/weblog.html>
Co-author of Insiders Guide to the Olympic Peninsula

>Tweeters:
>
>This may well be a silly question, but I was wondering if authorities
>watching for the imminent arrival of the West Nile virus would be testing
>dead birds. I ask, because today we found a newly deceased bird on our
>property. The bird seemed to have no injuries at all, so it didn't seem as
>though a predator had killed it. The body was actually in perfect shape, and
>since it was just laying at the bottom of a tree, it didn't seem as
though it
>has crashed into a window. I'm sure there are any number of things that
could
>have caused his death, but we have "West Nile" on the brain. (My husband is
>terribly allergic to the everyday common mesquite, so we are dreading the
>arrival of West Nile-infected ones.)
>
>Also, I have no idea what kind of bird this was, it seemed to look like a
>Hermit or Wood Thrush. What bird commonly found around here might resemble
>those two? I took photos, but haven't had them developed yet.
>
>I appreciate any comments.
>
>Linda Davey
>Pine Lake
>Sammamish, WA