I've used the technique in captive warblers, David, and ultimately decided that for the amount of blood I needed (~50 ul) it was better to get it via the brachial vein. I had two problems with nail clipping: (1) the bleeding was difficult to stop -- the birds would knock off clots when hopping around in the cage after release, and (2) it was hard to tell just where to cut -- my birds had dark nails and I had to guess; sometimes I'd get too little blood and when I trimmed a bit more, I'd get too much.
Like anything else, it'll take practice. Doug -----Original Message----- From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Inouye Sent: Thursday, June 18, 2015 3:04 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [ECOLOG-L] toenail clipping of birds for blood sampling If you've had any experience with this technique with small birds, I'd like to hear about it. I'm considering using it in hummingbirds to determine blood parasites and for genomic analysis. David Inouye
