Migratory Bird Treaty Act: Prohibitions, Permits, and Penalties

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act is the 1918 federal law that makes it a crime to pursue, capture, kill, sell, possess, or transport any of more than 1,000 protected bird species — or their feathers, eggs, or nests — without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.¹ It implements four international conservation treaties, with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia, and its penalties run from misdemeanor fines to felony imprisonment.

Which Birds Are Covered

The Fish and Wildlife Service maintains the official list of protected species at 50 CFR 10.13.² It covers songbirds, shorebirds, raptors, and waterfowl. How common a species is doesn’t matter: a robin gets the same legal protection as a bird on the edge of extinction.

What matters is whether the species is native to the United States or its territories. Birds brought here through human activity are not covered. The House Sparrow and European Starling, for example, sit outside the Act because they are not indigenous to North America.

Some birds carry additional layers of protection. Bald and golden eagles are covered by the MBTA and by the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which has its own permit requirements for activities that could disturb or harm eagles.³ Species listed under the Endangered Species Act face stricter rules that override the MBTA’s more general framework. If you’re planning construction, land clearing, or energy development, the Service’s IPaC screening tool can flag species-specific requirements before you break ground.

What the Law Prohibits

The core prohibitions sit in 16 U.S.C. § 703. Without federal authorization, you cannot pursue, hunt, capture, kill, possess, sell, purchase, ship, or transport any protected migratory bird, or any part, nest, or egg of one.⁴ Federal regulations define “take” to include pursuing, shooting, wounding, killing, trapping, capturing, or collecting a protected bird, and any attempt to do so.⁵

The scope goes well past living birds. A single feather picked up off the ground, an abandoned eggshell, or a fragment of nest can trigger a violation if you possess it without a permit. That surprises people, but the reasoning is straightforward: if casual collection of parts were allowed, enforcement against commercial trafficking would collapse. The ban on sale, barter, and interstate transport removes the financial incentive that once drove species toward extinction.

Nests on Your Property

Whether you can remove a bird nest depends on whether it is active. A nest is active from the moment the first egg is laid until the young have fledged and no longer depend on it. Destroying an active nest without a permit is illegal.⁶

An inactive nest, meaning one that is empty, still under construction with no eggs, or that contains only nonviable eggs, can generally be removed without a federal permit, so long as you don’t keep it. Nests belonging to eagles or endangered species may still be protected under separate federal laws, and many states have their own rules. For cavity-nesting species, where it’s hard to tell if a nest is occupied, the Service recommends consulting a wildlife professional before touching it.⁶

Dealing With Nuisance Birds

When migratory birds damage crops, contaminate feed, or create health hazards, lethal control almost always requires a permit first. A depredation permit application must describe the area, the species, the type of damage, and its extent.⁷ Even with a permit, the rules are strict: only a shoulder-fired shotgun no larger than 10-gauge, no decoys or bird calls, and all birds killed must be turned over to a federal representative.

Several standing depredation orders let you act without an individual permit in specific situations. Blackbirds, cowbirds, crows, grackles, and magpies can be controlled when causing serious crop or livestock damage, creating a health hazard, or damaging structures. Separate orders cover resident Canada geese at airports, overabundant double-crested cormorants, and a few other species. Each order carries its own conditions, including trying nonlethal methods first and reporting the number of birds taken.⁷

Nonlethal deterrence is the simplest legal route. You can scare or herd migratory birds off your property without any federal permit, provided they aren’t endangered, threatened, or eagles. Visual deterrents like scarecrows and reflective tape, physical barriers like netting and spikes, and chemical repellents labeled for bird use are all permitted. The most effective first step is usually making the area less hospitable: remove food sources, block roosting spots, install motion-activated lights or sprinklers.

Permits and Authorized Uses

Under 16 U.S.C. § 704, the Secretary of the Interior can authorize exceptions through a formal permitting system.⁸ The Fish and Wildlife Service administers dozens of permit types, each tied to a specific purpose. The most commonly issued categories:⁹

Scientific collecting permits let researchers capture, band, or collect birds and eggs for study.
Rehabilitation permits authorize licensed wildlife rehabilitators to possess and treat injured or orphaned birds.
Education permits cover the use of live or dead birds in educational programs.
Taxidermy permits let licensed taxidermists mount and prepare lawfully acquired specimens.
Falconry permits authorize the capture and use of raptors for falconry, subject to additional state requirements.
Depredation permits allow lethal control of birds causing documented damage to property, crops, or livestock.
Import/export permits cover the international transport of specimens and parts.

Federal application fees are modest. A scientific collecting permit costs $100, plus a $50 administration fee. A rehabilitation permit application is $50.¹⁰ Timing matters more than cost. The Service advises allowing at least 60 days for processing, and some applications take more than 90 days, especially if the paperwork is incomplete.¹¹ Applications are handled in the order received, so submit well before your planned activity.

Incidental Bird Deaths From Industry

The most contested question in MBTA enforcement is whether the law reaches “incidental take,” meaning bird deaths that result from lawful commercial activity rather than intentional hunting. Think of birds killed by power lines, communication towers, wind turbines, or open oil waste pits. These deaths are predictable and often preventable, but they aren’t the purpose of the activity.

As of April 2025, the Department of the Interior’s binding legal opinion (M-37085) directs all federal bureaus to treat the MBTA as not applying to incidental or accidental killing of migratory birds.¹² Under this interpretation, a company whose operations foreseeably kill protected birds faces no federal MBTA liability as long as the killing wasn’t deliberate. That’s a significant narrowing. Under previous administrations, federal agencies pursued enforcement actions against energy companies and other industries for bird deaths at industrial sites.

Courts have not agreed. The Second and Tenth Circuits have held the MBTA is a strict liability statute that can reach incidental take, while the Fifth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits have limited it to deliberate actions directed at birds. If you operate in an industry with significant bird mortality risk, best management practices (proper lighting on towers, netting over waste pits, collision-reducing designs) reduce exposure regardless of the current federal posture, and they help under state wildlife laws that may still apply.

Penalties for Violations

The Act draws a sharp line between accidental violations and commercial exploitation.

Misdemeanors

Most violations fall under 16 U.S.C. § 707(a) as misdemeanors. This includes any unauthorized taking, possession, or transport of a protected bird or its parts. The cap is $15,000 in fines and six months in federal prison per violation.¹³ Courts have generally treated these offenses as strict liability, meaning prosecutors do not need to prove you intended to violate the law or even knew the bird was protected.

Felonies

Felony charges apply when someone knowingly takes a migratory bird with intent to sell or barter it, or knowingly sells or offers to sell a protected bird. The MBTA itself caps felony fines at $2,000, with up to two years of imprisonment.¹³ That figure understates the real exposure. Under the federal Alternative Fines Act, courts can impose fines up to $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for organizations convicted of any federal felony, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.¹⁴ For large-scale trafficking, actual financial exposure runs far higher than the statute’s text suggests.

Beyond fines and imprisonment, courts can order forfeiture of equipment, vehicles, and firearms used in the violation. A federal hunting license can be revoked too.

Hunting Migratory Game Birds

Regulated hunting is the largest permitted exception. The Fish and Wildlife Service sets annual frameworks — seasons, bag limits, approved methods — based on population surveys and habitat data. States then adopt seasons within those federal parameters.

Anyone hunting migratory waterfowl aged 16 or older must carry a valid Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp, commonly called a Duck Stamp, currently $25. Most states also require a separate state hunting license and often a state-level waterfowl or migratory bird stamp. State fees vary widely.

Reporting Violations and Helping Injured Birds

If you see someone killing, trafficking, or illegally possessing migratory birds, you can report it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by calling 1-844-FWS-TIPS (1-844-397-8477) or submitting a tip online through the FWS law enforcement portal.¹⁵ Photograph or video what you see if you can do so safely, note the location and time, and record any vehicle or identifying details. The Service may offer a reward for information leading to a conviction.

Finding an injured migratory bird puts you in an awkward legal spot. You can’t lawfully keep a protected bird without a rehabilitation permit, but leaving an injured animal feels wrong. The practical answer: place the bird in a ventilated box lined with paper towels, keep it somewhere warm and quiet, and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator immediately. Do not offer food or water; the wrong diet can do more harm than good. Your state wildlife agency or local animal control office can point you to a permitted rehabilitator. If a bird hits your window and seems stunned but not visibly injured, give it about an hour in a sheltered spot before checking again. Many recover on their own.

1
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
2
eCFR. 50 CFR 10.13 – List of Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act
3
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Supplemental Information for Migratory Birds and Bald and Golden Eagles in IPaC
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 703 – Taking, Killing, or Possessing Migratory Birds Unlawful
5
eCFR. 50 CFR 10.12 – Definitions
6
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Memorandum: Destruction and Relocation of Migratory Bird Nest Contents
7
eCFR. 50 CFR Part 21 – Migratory Bird Permits
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 704 – Determination as to When and How Migratory Birds May Be Taken, Killed, or Possessed
9
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Permit Types and Forms
10
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Migratory Bird Permit Processing Fees
11
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Permit Application Form Instructions
12
Department of the Interior. Memorandum M-37085
13
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 707 – Violations and Penalties; Forfeitures
14
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3571 – Sentence of Fine
15
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. How to Report Wildlife Crime