Molted Feathers 

1) Fill out the requested information on the envelope (9 1/2" x 6" or 24cm x 15cm):

        • Lek Name

        • GPS Coordinates/UTM

        • State/Province

        • County or State/Provincial/Federal Park/Refuge

        • Name of Collector(s)

        • Number of Males Observed

        • Number of Females Observed

        • Notes (unusual observations)


(2) Put all of the feathers from one lek into one envelope - if feathers are collected from a lek on multiple days, put the feathers from each day into separate envelopes


(3) Do not handle the tip of the feather (that is where the DNA is and handling can remove the cells that may contain DNA). If the tip of the feather is missing, the feather is not worth collecting


(4) Keep the feathers cool and out of the sun.


(5) Seal the envelope with a small piece of tape (do not lick the envelope). Feathers can be kept indefinitely in this manner.


*** The following is a diagram of a molted feather and its DNA containing region that can be printed off and glued/taped on enevelopes to provide instructions to the feather collectors****

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