Millions of birds die each year due to collision with man-made structures. Many of these deaths go unreported, yet they each hold a piece of the bigger puzzle that scientists are still attempting to unravel.

Each bird carcass that is reported or collected contributes to valuable, irreplaceable virtual and physical biorepositories that could otherwise be difficult to obtain, hence providing important data to help us study patterns of bird mortality in Singapore to benefit their conservation. Every bird collected will be carefully processed into scientific specimens that will serve as reference material for many generations to come.

Please contact the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum’s Dead Bird Hotline at +65 8449 5023 (WhatsApp) or @deadbirdhotline (Telegram). 

NOTE: the hotline requires internet connection, so regular phone calls to the hotline number will not go through. Alternatively, please contact LKCNHM’s Curator of Birds, Dr Tan Yen Yi (yenyi.tan@nus.edu.sg).

We will respond as soon as possible to coordinate the collection of the bird for our research. Even if we are unable to collect the bird, the information from your report will be recorded and remains useful for our long-term monitoring efforts on urban avian mortality in Singapore.

In your message to us, kindly include the following information:

1.  Date and time of find;
2. Location (GPS coordinates if possible);
3. Photos for species identification purposes, to aid in our prioritisation of resources to arrange for collection.

If you are unable to secure the carcass until our arrival, you may gently shift or leave the bird in a safe location out of common line of sight. You may move the bird into grass or vegetation nearby and let us know where you have left it. Doing so will keep the specimen hidden from view so that it is less likely to be discarded by well-meaning members of the public, as well as shelter it from the elements, and if it goes uncollected, Mother Nature will have it back.

In the meantime, if you are holding onto the carcass, we recommend storing the carcass by:

1. Wrapping the bird in some tissue paper or newspaper;
2. Placing the wrapped bird in a plastic bag (Ziplock bags work great);
3. Keeping it in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. The colder the better; keeping it in a freezer would be most ideal.
4. Don’t forget to wash your hands with soap and water after handling the bird.

Following these steps helps to slow decomposition and preserve specimen quality for future research applications.

Thank you for supporting our work in documenting Singapore’s birds, one bird at a time.