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Tex. Parks and Wildlife Code § 64.002

This is the official text of Tex. Parks and Wildlife Code § 64.002, part of Texas’s Parks and Wildlife Code — governs state parks, hunting, and fishing.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

§ 64.002. PROTECTION OF NONGAME BIRDS.

Official statutory text

(a) Except as provided by this code, no person may:

(1) catch, kill, injure, pursue, or possess, dead or alive, or purchase, sell, expose for sale, transport, ship, or receive or deliver for transportation, a bird that is not a game bird;

(2) possess any part of the plumage, skin, or body of a bird that is not a game bird; or

(3) disturb or destroy the eggs, nest, or young of a bird that is not a game bird.

(b) European starlings, English sparrows, and feral rock doves (Columba livia) may be killed at any time in any manner and their nests or eggs may be destroyed, and such conduct does not constitute an offense under Chapter 42, Penal Code.

(c) A permit is not required to control yellow-headed, red-winged, rusty, or Brewer's blackbirds or all grackles, cowbirds, crows, or magpies when found committing or about to commit depredations on ornamental or shade trees, agricultural crops, livestock, or wildlife, or when concentrated in numbers and in a manner that constitutes a health hazard or other nuisance.

(d) Canaries, parrots, and other exotic nongame birds may be sold, purchased, and kept as domestic pets.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.