The North American Bird Banding Program

The North American Bird Banding Program

Bird banding is an universal and indispensable technique for studying the movement, survival and behavior of birds. The North American Bird Banding Program is jointly administered by the United States Department of the Interior and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Their respective banding offices have similar functions and policies and use the same bands, reporting forms and data formats. Joint coordination of the program dates back to 1923.

About Bird Bands
There are several different types of bands used on wild birds in North America. Each type of band is made in many different sizes so that every bird has a suitable size band available for use by banders. Bands provided by the Bird Banding Laboratory are made of aluminum and inscribed CALL 1-800-327 BAND and WRITE BIRD BAND LAUREL MD 20708 USA followed by a unique 8 or 9 digit number. The older bird bands had the legend AVISE BIRD BAND WASH DC. These bands are from the same agency as the new bands and can be reported on the 1-800 telephone number or to Laurel MD.

There are 23 standard size bands and 5 specially sized bands made to accommodate the smallest hummingbird to the large Trumpeter Swan. In addition there are 4 common types of bands which include the standard butt-end band, the lock-on bands used on hawks and owls, rivet bands used on eagles, and hard metal bands for use on birds that would otherwise outlive their bands or are in harsh environments like salt water that may wear the regular bands too quickly.

Bands do wear out eventually, but even a very worn band with the numbers seemingly invisible can have the numbers determined using etching. Most bands are made of an aluminum alloy. The numbers are stamped into the band and can wear off with time. The average band on a Mallard wears one number off in 8-10 years. A band on a Redhead is often worn completely (no numbers legible) in this same 8-10 years. Band wear depends greatly on the amount of time a bird spends in the water, particularly salt water.

If you find a bird band with one or more numbers worn off (or if the band number is struck with shot) mail it to the Bird Banding Laboratory to be etched. The number can be retrieved successfully in most cases. Bands are etched using a strong acid solution. The band metal in areas where the number was stamped is weaker and the strong acid solution erodes away more metal where there were numbers, so the actual number is seen when the band is rinsed. The band will be returned to you when the number has been determined if you request it be returned.

To send a band to the Bird Banding Laboratory, tape the band between two pieces of cardboard, wrap the band in padding, or place it in a small box if you want to keep it round. This is very important, as otherwise the band may cut the envelope and be lost in the postal system. Send the band with all the information on how, when, and where you found the band with your address to Bird Banding Laboratory, 12100 Beech Forest Lane, Laurel MD 20708 Attention: Band to Be Etched. If you include a request to return the band, it will be mailed back to you whether we are successful in retrieving a number or not.

Butt-end Bands
The most common type of band used in North America is the butt-end band. This band is a round band with two edges that butt evenly together when closed correctly. Butt-end bands are supplied by the Bird Banding Laboratory to licensed US banders free of charge. Bands made of a harder metal, typically stainless steel, monel or incoloy, are used on birds that live for many years or live in salt water environments. Some sizes of hard metal bands are available to banders now, but most must be purchased at the banders expense.

Lock-on and Rivet Bands
Lock-on and Rivet bands are specifically designed to stop birds with strong bills like hawks and owls from opening or damaging the band with their strong bill. The lock-on band is used on all medium to large birds of prey other than eagles. The band is like a normal butt-end band with two flanges of metal. The longer flange is folded over the shorter flange, effectively "locking" the band in place. The band is made of relatively soft aluminum and can be removed by the bander, but not by the bird.

Rivet bands are made of harder metal than the lock-on band (but not stainless steel) and are used on eagles. The band has two short flanges of metal that project out from the seam where the two ends of the band meet. These flanges are side by side when the band is closed with a hole for a rivet. The band is riveted in place.

A Brief History of Bird Banding
People have been banding (or ringing, as it is called in Europe) birds for centuries. The first record of a metal band attached to a bird's leg was about 1595 when one of Henry IV's banded Peregrine Falcons was lost in pursuit of a bustard in France. It showed up 24 hours later in Malta, about 1350 miles away, averaging 56 miles an hour!

Duke Ferdinand placed a silver band on a Grey Heron about 1669: the bird was recovered by his grandson about 1728, indicating the heron lived at least 60 years. In 1710 in Germany, a falconer captured a grey heron with several rings on one leg. The bander was unknown but one of the rings was apparently placed on the heron in Turkey, more than 1200 miles to the east.

The first records of banding in North America are those of John James Audubon, the famous American naturalist and painter. In 1803 he tied silver cords to the legs of a brood of phoebes near Philadelphia and was able to identify two of the nestlings when they returned to the neighborhood the following year.

A system for bird banding did not really develop until 1899, when Hans Mortensen, a Danish school teacher, began placing aluminum rings on the legs of European teal, pintail, white storks, starlings and several types of hawks. He inscribed the bands with his name and address in the hope they would be returned to him if found. His system of banding became the model for our current efforts.

In 1902 Paul Bartsch, a well-known conchologist whose hobby was the study of birds, began the first scientific system of banding in North America. In that year he ringed more than 100 black-crowned night herons in the District of Columbia with bands inscribed "Return to Smithsonian Institution". The real pioneer bander in the Americas was Jack Miner who established a waterfowl sanctuary near Kingsville, Ontario. Between 1909 and 1939 he banded 20,000 Canada Geese alone, many of which carried bands returned to him by hunters.

By 1909 the American Bird Banding Association had been formed to organize and assist the growing numbers. In 1920 the Bureau of Biological Survey and the Canadian Wildlife Service accepted the offer to jointly take over the work of the Association. Frederick Lincoln was assigned the task of organizing the banding program in the USA in the Bureau of Biological Survey (now the United States Geologic Survey). The North American banding program has been a joint effort to oversee the activities of dedicated banders all over the world ever since.

Who Can Band Birds?
Because banding birds requires capturing the birds and handling them before the banding takes place, the banding of birds in the United States is controlled under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and requires a federal banding permit. Some states require a state permit as well. Only official federal bands may be legally placed on birds that are released to the wild within the United States.

Banders are a select group. There are currently only 2000 Master banding permits and 2000 subpermits in the United States. Master Banders include federal and state agencies, university researchers, bird observatories, and private individuals. Waterfowl are banded only by federal and state agencies. Private individuals are not normally allowed to band waterfowl as the banding information is used to set harvest regulations.

Persons who want to apply for a banding permit must be able to show that they are qualified to safely trap, handle, and band the birds. The applicant is responsible for acquiring all training, none is provided by the Bird Banding Laboratory. Some potential banders learn in an apprenticeship program, working one-on-one with an active bander. Others learn by visiting bird observatories or banding groups. Still others take courses in banding and handling birds. Advertisements for courses can be found in the Ornithological Newsletter or the North American Bird Bander.

Applicants who are at least 18 years of age and are able to identify all of the common birds in their different seasonal plumage may apply for a bird banding permit. Applications are submitted to the Bird Banding Laboratory in the USA or the Canadian Wildlife Service in Canada. The applicants must furnish the names of three well-known bird banders or ornithologist who can vouch for their expertise as a bird bander. Only those persons who are well qualified and have a well defined research project are issued banding permits. Authorized banders receive bands and the necessary reporting forms.

Why Band Birds?
Bird banding data are useful in both research and management projects. Individual identification of birds makes possible studies of dispersal and migration, behavior and social structure, life-span and survival rate, reproductive success and population growth.

Dispersal and Migration
Every bander participates in studies of dispersal and migration by sending all their banding data in to a central site like the Bird Banding Laboratory. When banded birds are captured, released alive and reported from somewhere else we can reconstruct the movements of the individual bird.

In this way we have learned that some species go south in one pathway and return north by another pathway. Nesting and wintering grounds have been located for some species, and specific nesting grounds have been connected to specific wintering areas. The Arctic Tern makes the longest migration flight of any living species, making an annual round trip flight of 25,000 miles. The migration routes used by this species have been determined by band recoveries in part.

The Bird Banding Laboratory can give banders permission to use radio transmitters to track individual birds. The radios may be on a standard research frequency for tracking local movements or the dispersal of young birds from the area where they were raised. Some researchers are using satellite transmitters on birds which allow the researcher to track the bird anywhere on the earth. A wealth of information can be learned from using satellite radios, but they are expensive and although technology is allowing them to be made lighter and lighter, the bird must still be a relatively large species to be able to carry a satellite transmitter at this time.

Behavior and Social Structure
Many researchers use banding as one tool in their studies of bird populations and communities. The Bird Banding Laboratory can give banders permission to use additional techniques to study birds, including markers that are more visible than the metal service bands. Some banders use colored leg bands to mark individual birds and study their local movements and behaviors from a distance. Individual identification of birds allows many things to be studied without handling the bird again. Some things that may be studied include territorial behavior, mate fidelity, territory size and fidelity, reproductive behavior (which bird builds the nest? Feeds the young? How often?).

Determining Life Span
Banding allows the determination of the minimum length of time that an individual bird lives. Without an individual marker, there would be no way to determine if the Cardinal that is outside my window is the same bird that I saw last year or not. With a bird band, if I catch that Cardinal today and band it, I will know if that one bird is caught again in the future.

We have learned, for example, that it is not uncommon for individuals of some species to live 10 to 20 years or more in the wild. Small songbirds that we may think of as short-lived may live a surprising length of time. We have a record of a hummingbird living as long as 12 years! However, the average life span of the majority of the individuals is much shorter.

Population Studies
Banding and marking birds can also be used to estimate the numbers of birds in a population using a mark-recapture technique. Birds are marked in one time period, and then recaptured or resighted in a later time period. The number of birds marked in the first period and the ratio of marked to unmarked birds in the population in the second period allow the total population of birds to be estimated.

Estimating Survival and Productivity
Banding data allows for the comparison of normal, wild banded birds with birds that may have had their survival altered by exposure to oil or other hazards. Survival and Productivity can be studied by using a constant effort banding site. The Monitoring Avian Productiviy and Survivorship(MAPS) program is a cooperative research effort of the Institute for Bird Populations and banders throughout North America.

Toxicology and Disease Research
Birds can be vectors of diseases which effect people, including encephalitis and Lyme disease. Sampling wild birds for serious disease helps determine the prevalence of the disease in the population. Banding allows for birds that have been sampled once to be avoided in the next sample--or to be resampled, depending on the study.

Toxicology projects using banding assess the turnover time or how long birds use an area once they arrive in it. This allows the researcher to determine the potential exposure of birds to chemicals in contaminated areas.

Other Uses of Game Bird Data
An analysis of banding information from game birds is completed annually and is essential for hunting regulations development and for detecting changes in waterfowl populations. Banding data can be used to assess the hunting pressure, estimate productivity and survival, and measure the vulnerability of the age/sex classes to hunting pressure.

How many birds are banded?
For the calendar year 2001, 1,049,646 birds were banded in the United States and Canada, and 97,204 recoveries were reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory. These included birds from the following groups:

Ducks 222,006 banded; 48,576 recovered
Geese (includes Brant) 132,295 banded; 39,766 recovered
Swans 1,063 banded; 555 recovered
Doves 4,329 banded; 156 recovered
Woodcock 934 banded; 94 recovered
Nongame 689,019 banded; 8057 recovered
Included in Nongame birds are hawks and owls, most (non-waterfowl) endangered species, wading birds, and songbirds (including neotropical migrants) as well as other birds that are not eaten as game.

Where are the grouse, quail, turkey, pheasant? These birds are no longer banded with federal bands. Each state or province uses their own bands on these birds, as they are not covered by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

In 2001, the following Nongame birds were banded or recovered:

Eagles 539 banded; 159 recovered
Hawks and Owls other than eagles 43,249 banded; 1500 recovered
Herons, Egrets, Ibis, and Bitterns 864 banded; 19 recovered
Gulls and Terns 54,397 banded; 1341 recovered
Shorebirds 16,320 banded; 136 recovered
Vireos and Warblers 131,110 banded; 89 recovered

How to Report a Federal Bird Band in North America
If you are not sure of what kind of band you have found, Click Here.

You can submit an electronic report. Click here to electronically report a metal band with or without a color marker.

If you cannot submit your report via this website, you may call toll-free to 1-800-327-BAND (2263) from anywhere in Canada, the United States and most parts of the Caribbean. The operator will need to know the band number, how, when and where the bird or band was found.

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