IndianRingNeck.com

I saw a post on another board about the Feather Distribution Project (http://www.wingwise.com/feather.htm) and dropped a line to the coordinator to ask for a bit more info. I have excerpted from his response for your consideration....

....Tail feathers from Budgies are used, as are tail feathers from the
Indian Ring-necked; in fact, we get more requests for Ring-necked tail
feathers from Native American Church members than we can fill at any one time. So please send them.

No one that I know uses finch feathers. All feathers from Amazons and
all species of macaws are used, including body contour feathers. Tail
feathers from both species of African Greys are also in demand. So
please send what you can when it's convenient. We're happy to reimburse
postage.

Best wishes for the Holiday Season.

Jonathan E. Reyman, Ph.D.
Curator of Anthropology
Illinois State Museum
Research and Collections Center
1011 East Ash Street
Springfield, IL 62703-3500
USA
email: reyman@museum.state.il.us
217.785.0069
217.785.2857 (FAX)

Thanks for the info. Sounds interesting. Do they
use them for displays in the museum?

This is really pretty cool.....
Purpose:

* To provide wild turkey, macaw, and parrot feathers to the Pueblo Indians of the American Southwest for traditional religious ceremonies to help them maintain their 1st Amendment rights under the Constitution.
* To eliminate the smuggling of endangered and threatened species of macaws and parrots, and, in turn, to reduce the destruction of native bird populations and their habitats in Latin America.
* To eliminate feather plucking by providing specific Pueblo people with the particular feathers they need so that they will use only molted feathers from their birds.