# ID this feather? (North Texas bird) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 7, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464 "2015-03-07T19:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/1 "2015-03-07T19:18:04Z")
Found in the metroplex, so it can’t be anything TOO exotic. I suspect a hawk. Theories? 9 [http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/07/db9637b99d39a9aaf67c9c18d9c841ee.jpg](http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/15/03/07/db9637b99d39a9aaf67c9c18d9c841ee.jpg) Round object is a US nickel coin for scale. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2015, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/2 "2015-03-07T23:49:14Z")
Looks like an Owl feather to me. Here is a website where you can do your own identification : [http://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idfeather.php](http://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idfeather.php) You’ll like the website for its detail and variety ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/3 "2015-03-08T01:04:08Z")
I would guess sparrow hawk. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/4 "2015-03-08T01:52:41Z")
> [@am77494](#): > > Looks like an Owl feather to me. {…} That’s my first guess too. AIUI the easy way to tell owl feathers from non-owl feathers is two details, > [@](#): > > {…} In addition to the serrated edges, the owl’s feathers are coated in a velvety upper surface and a soft, downy surface on the lower portion. {…}[RIGHT][CITE](http://www.asknature.org/strategy/938e8c4d8e2bf786fa5c9922d181273e)[/RIGHT] But unless your really familiar with feathers in general or have a non-owl feather for comparison the differences might not be that obvious. (The texture is pretty obvious in the pics at the above site.) The right color and fuzzy, owl. The right color and not fuzzy, not owl. CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/5 "2015-03-08T02:21:54Z")
If it’s a hawk or an owl, the fathers are [illegal to posses](http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/birds_of_prey_nca/links/raptor_possession.html). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/6 "2015-03-08T04:32:03Z")
I think it’s probably from a[female American Kestrel.](http://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/feather.php?Bird=AMKE_primary_female) ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2015, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/7 "2015-03-08T04:52:36Z")
Beautiful plumage. > **[American Kestrel Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Kestrel/id)** > > North America’s littlest falcon, the American Kestrel packs a predator’s fierce intensity into its small body. It's one of the most colorful of all raptors: the male’s slate-blue head and wings contrast elegantly with his rusty-red back and tail; the... And that feather site is a great one **Colibri**! ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/8 "2015-03-09T17:05:18Z")
There’s a rabbit warren near where the feathers were found, so a raptor makes perfect sense. > [@chacoguy](#): > > If it’s a hawk or an owl, the fathers are [illegal to posses](http://www.blm.gov/id/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/birds_of_prey_nca/links/raptor_possession.html). Enforcement logistics aside\* does that really mean that, according to both the spirit and the letter of the law, I’m required to throw the feathers into the trash can? 😕 Serious question (with an admittedly snarky tone) because I’m genuinely curious about that aspect. \*I’m picturing sitting home alone, peacefully reading a book, when suddenly [the feds come pounding on my door and storming in with guns at the ready](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/36/Inselian.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-feather-north-texas-bird/714464/9 "2015-03-09T17:47:40Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > There’s a rabbit warren near where the feathers were found, so a raptor makes perfect sense. Rabbits would be pretty big prey for a Kestrel. They mostly go for small birds and mammals and large insects. > [@](#): > > Enforcement logistics aside\* does that really mean that, according to both the spirit and the letter of the law, I’m required to throw the feathers into the trash can? 😕 Serious question (with an admittedly snarky tone) because I’m genuinely curious about that aspect. Technically you could apply for a Salvage Permit. > [@](#): > > **• Special Purpose Salvage** If you would like to have a hawk feather or a mounted raptor you still must have a federal permit issued under one of the previously mentioned laws and possibly a state permit. The salvage permit allows one to possess non-living raptors or raptor parts. Dead specimens collected under this permit may be mounted, prepared as study skins, or otherwise used for educational purposes, including public display. However, the odds of being prosecuted for having a single molted Kestrel feather in one’s possession are probably small.