• Specific laws apply to rescuing and keeping wild birds.birds image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
  
  There are a wide variety of birds living within the many geographic regions of the United States, and there are specific laws meant to protect them from being poached or illegally captured to be sold as pets. These laws are made on both a federal and state level and usually permits are required for both when rescuing and keeping most species of wild birds.
  
  

Keeping Wild Birds

• If a wild bird is injured or in need of medical help or attention, it is illegal for someone without the proper state and federal permits to take care of the bird for an extended period of time. This is due to the fact that people may accidentally do more harm than good when rescuing birds. If there is a wild bird that needs special attention or help, people should call the proper wildlife authorities in the area to come out and examine the bird. If they can do so safely, transport the bird to a place where it can be nursed back to health.
  
  

Bird Nest Laws

• If a bird dies and it's nest is present or has eggs or babies in it, it is illegal for someone to even touch or remove the nest to try and rescue the chicks without having state and federal permits. When humans touch a nest, an egg or a baby bird chick, the mother bird will often not return to her young and abandon them. If a nest does need to be removed to save a particular set of eggs or chicks from a mother bird, call the proper wildlife authorities to have them come out and do it properly.
  
  

Dead Birds

• If someone tries to rescue a bird and it dies while in their care and they do not have the proper state and federal permits, they can face heavy fines. The penalties vary in degree based upon what type of bird it was, whether that bird was endangered or protected by the federal government, and the severity of violation.