Legal Possession & Tagging Requirements

Federal law (50 CFR § 20.43) requires that "the head or one fully feathered wing remains attached to each" migratory game bird at all times during transport, from the place taken until arrival at the hunter's home or a migratory-bird preservation facility — doves and band-tailed pigeons are the only named exceptions.

This wing/head-attached rule exists specifically so a bird's species can be verified during transport — it is a species-identification and possession-limit enforcement measure, not a food-safety requirement, and applies before any of this section's other field-care/food-safety guidance comes into play.

When shipping birds by mail or common carrier, the package must be clearly marked on the outside with the shipper's and consignee's name/address and an accurate count of each species contained.

See this guide's own Licensing & Regulations page for the separate possession-limit numbers (typically three times the daily bag limit) that this identification requirement exists to help enforce.