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If you find an injured wild bird, keep people and pets away, avoid touching it, and call a local wildlife rehabilitator or animal welfare service for instructions before moving it. If you find a dead bird, leave it where it is and report it through your local wildlife authority’s designated channel. Reporting rules and collection services vary by location.

What to do first

  • Keep your distance. Keep children and pets away, and do not try to identify a disease by looking at the bird. Some infected birds show no visible signs, and birds can be ill or dead for many reasons. UK public guidance advises keeping as much distance as possible: GOV.UK avian-influenza advice.
  • Do not handle or move it unless an authority tells you to. Do not touch a dead wild bird. If you are in a public place, contact the land manager or relevant local authority rather than attempting to remove it.
  • Work out whether it is alive and whether there are other dead birds nearby. An injured or sick bird needs advice from a wildlife rescue or animal welfare service; a dead bird, multiple dead birds, or an unusual die-off may need reporting to a wildlife agency or public-health service.

If the bird is injured or sick

  1. Call a local wildlife rehabilitator, animal welfare service, or veterinarian before transporting the bird. Explain where it is, what condition it appears to be in, and whether other birds are affected.
  2. Follow the instructions you receive. A service may advise you to leave the bird in place or explain how to contain it while avoiding direct contact. Calling ahead helps the receiving site protect other animals.
  3. If you are in Scotland, the cited government guidance directs reports of sick or injured wild birds to the Scottish SPCA. Check its current instructions before acting: Scottish Government avian influenza guidance.

If the bird is dead

Do not touch it. Report it to the wildlife authority or designated service for your area, and follow any directions about whether it should be left in place, collected, or disposed of. Reporting may support disease surveillance, but it does not guarantee that the bird will be collected.

England, Scotland, and Wales

The Great Britain reporting service accepts reports online or by phone at 03459 33 55 77. It says some reported birds may be collected and tested, but not all are collected. Check the current service and instructions at GOV.UK’s dead wild bird reporting page; its guidance was last updated 17 May 2024. Suspected wildlife crime should be reported to police. Suspected pesticide or rodenticide poisoning should be reported through the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme.

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For Scotland, the cited government page says to report a single dead bird of prey, swan, goose, duck, gull, or blackbird, or five or more dead wild birds of other species found at the same time, through the Great Britain service. Thresholds and outbreak instructions can change, so check the live page before relying on them.

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United States

For dead birds on your property, USDA APHIS advises contacting your state wildlife agency or state health department. Report large-scale die-offs or unusual signs to USDA, and use current state instructions for what to do next. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also directs reports of wild bird and mammal mortalities to the state wildlife management agency: USDA APHIS avian influenza guidance and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service mortality-event guidance.

Elsewhere

Contact your local wildlife authority, animal welfare service, or public-health department to find the appropriate reporting channel. A phone number or reporting threshold that applies in one country may not apply where you live.

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If contact cannot be avoided

Handling is a contingency, not the default. If a local authority instructs you to move or dispose of a bird, follow its protective and disposal directions; rules differ by place and situation. Official guidance describes using disposable gloves or an inverted plastic bag as a barrier, keeping the bird away from your face, bagging it as directed, and washing your hands thoroughly with soap and water. Do not generalize household disposal advice to public land or a large die-off.

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UK guidance for unavoidable contact with a garden bird also advises covering exposed skin, keeping the bird outside and away from your face, cleaning surfaces it touched, washing clothing, and double-bagging disposable items. See GOV.UK’s public avian-influenza advice and its reporting and disposal guidance for the applicable instructions.

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If you feel unwell after contact

Seek medical advice if you develop flu-like symptoms after handling a sick or dead bird, and tell the clinician about the bird exposure. USDA APHIS specifically advises seeking medical attention for influenza-like symptoms within 10 days of handling sick or dead birds. In the UK, if a professional says the bird may have had avian influenza, contact your local health protection team as advised by GOV.UK.

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