It's a redtail secondary left wing feather, from not far from the main wing joint (one or two feathers toward the body from the joint).

My falconry redtails are just dropping these now in their molt.

cool, thanks for the info...i used to have a molted primary rth feather but my cats found it and chewed it up. i was thrilled to find this a few weeks ago. i thought that birds molt symmetrically. do they loose these feathers at the same time?

First, it's illegal (Migratory Bird Treaty violation) for you to possess this feather, even if you just found it on the ground. Discard it. These feathers can be possessed only by Native Americans, and by falconers (but only to be used for repairing -- imping -- damaged feathers; not for hats, or adornments, etc.).

Molting is moderately symetrical. Some birds are very orderly in dropping the feathers, but a few do a little skipping around.

They tend to alternate between left and right wings a bit, so as not to have giant holes in the wings, making flying a bit harder.

Why is it illegal? I can undersatnd if a bird was harmed. But to just find it there? I'm sure there is some rational reasoning. Just curious as to why? And that only Native Indians can keep them? That's just ridiculous.

They dont want people killing the birds for the feathers. I have never seen any feather police so I dont they will come after you for picking up one feather.

Native americans use them for religious purposes and feathers from dead birds are given to them. Feathers may also be kept by Rehabilitors.

The "rational reasoning" behind the no possession of found feathers derives from the profuse feather trade that nearly eliminated a number bird species early in the 20th century. Bird feathers were used for womenÂs hats. Millions of birds were killed for their showy feathers.

Totay, allowing folks to simply pick up molted hawk feathers from the wild and put them in their hats would promote the killing of hawks for the same purpose. It would not be possible to tell if a hawk was killed for some feathers in a personÂs possession, or if they were just found along the road. So, the law prohibits possession. Simple, understandable, and effective.

The Migratory Bird Treaty is still the law. It protects not just living birds, but those dead, or even parts of dead birds, including feathers. Like it or not, itÂs the law.

And there are "feather police," law enforcement agents of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. They enforce federal bird protection laws, including the Migratory Bird Treaty. They win just about every case they take to court. The law is very clear, and judges arenÂt too convinced that common citizens should be allowed to cavalierly disregard the law.