Game Birds

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The term game birds generally applies to bird species that are hunted, and it typically takes on either a wide-ranging and strict definition or a more limited and loose definition.

The wide-ranging and strict definition deals with the migratory birds found during different seasons of the year in Mexico, the United States and Canada. The legal boundaries for hunting those birds was initially laid out, and subsequently amended, by the terms of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), "The migratory bird conventions with Canada and Mexico define "game birds" as those species belonging to the following families: Anatidae (swans, geese, and ducks), Rallidae (rails, gallinules, and coots), Gruidae (cranes), Charadriidae (plovers and lapwings), Haematopodidae (oystercatchers), Recurvirostridae (stilts and avocets), Scolopacidae (sandpipers, phalaropes, and allies), and Columbidae (pigeons and doves)."

A looser definition of game birds deals with the domestic birds such as ducks, grouse and pheasant, that are hunted on a seasonal basis.

This album presents a sample of common domestic game birds.

© 2009. Patricia A. Michaels