Probably Can't Be Used For Coconut Transportation Either

So, in desperation we were watching the special features of Six Feet Under last night (I didn't feel like driving out to get the next disc), which basically consisted of a short making-of about the show's title sequence. If you've never seen the show, you should - get thee to a video store promptly. It's brilliant in a way I've never seen before, and while the feature was definitely DVD filler (there's a reason special features almost never interest me beyond the gag reel), the titles are really well done and deserved a little attention.

Anyway, in the process of listening to the commentary, one of the people who put together the opening sequence mentioned trouble getting footage of a crow because it is illegal to film a crow for commercial purposes in the United States. I actually had to pause the DVD for a moment to confirm with my lovely wife that I had heard that statement correctly. She confirmed, and we continued.

Being me, I felt the need to find out what the *#$& this was all about, so I turned to my trusty web browser and fired up Google, and lo and behold, there it was. Due to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 you may not possess a migratory bird, including the common American crow. Because you can't possess one, you can't film one for commercial purposes, I suppose because it implies that someone owns the bird being filmed (well, that and the fact that migratory birds are notoriously bad about signing release forms).

I have to say I was much relieved to see that it applied to all migratory birds, because my first thought was that it was just about crows. I was trying to imagine the justification of not being allowed to film crows while a bald eagle could be used to shill tampons. Well, it isn't so, so you can all rest easy. (I should point out, however, the fact that bald eagles are incredibly absorbent and have been proven to reduce embarrassing odor. Just sayin'.)

Anyway, I thought that was an interesting little tidbit of information worth passing on. Of course this totally ruins the script I'm writing about a downy woodpecker who plays by his own rules having to parter up with a straight laced turkey vulture to uncover the facts surrounding the mysterious death of a local cliff swallow. Oh well, perhaps it could be an animated feature.

Does anyone have Pixar's number?