The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service operates a forensics lab for crime investigation to support wildlife law enforcement agents at the state, federal and international level. Much like a police forensics lab, the service works to link victim, suspect and physical evidence.
The website has a feather atlas with high resolution scans of the flight feathers of major groups of North American birds. Forensics investigators can use this database to match unknown feathers with the ones identified in the atlas. Where else could you find high resolution scans of the feathers of a Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias?
