Measuring the wing length of a banded Iiwi
I found (or killed) a bird with a band or color marker around its leg. What do I do?
Bird band information is an important tool that is used to monitor populations, set hunting regulations, restore endangered species, study effects of environmental contaminants, and address such issues as Avian Influenza, bird hazards at airports, and crop depredations.
The North American Bird Banding Program is jointly administered by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Their respective banding offices use the same bands, reporting forms, and data formats. You can report bird bands to either agency.
To report a bird band to the USGS, please contact the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory by following the instructions on the mobile-friendly USGS Bird Band Reporting website.
If the bird is already dead, you can remove and keep the band after reporting it.
Related Content
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 can be legally placed on birds that are released to the wild within the United States. Banders...
How can I stop birds from repeatedly hitting my windows?
Bird collisions with glass can occur for several reasons, reflection , transparency or for territory . Glass on our windows and doors can reflect surrounding vegetation or sky giving the illusion that it’s a landscape that birds can use. Transparency can also occur when a bird is able to see true habitat through a set of windows and perceives the space as a fly-through. For example, a transparency...
Measuring the wing length of a banded Iiwi
by Susan Haig, Wildlife Ecologist
New research indicates that birds are listening to the landscape to find their way
By Jon Hagstrum, Research Geophysicist
New research indicates that birds are listening to the landscape to find their way
By Jon Hagstrum, Research Geophysicist
A color banded plover in the hand of a scientist.
A color banded plover in the hand of a scientist.
Two Yupik Eskimo students from Chevak, Alaska holding a tundra swan cygnet. These student volunteers were helping with an annual USGS waterfowl banding program along the Kashunuk River near the Bering Sea coast in western Alaska.
Two Yupik Eskimo students from Chevak, Alaska holding a tundra swan cygnet. These student volunteers were helping with an annual USGS waterfowl banding program along the Kashunuk River near the Bering Sea coast in western Alaska.
The kit contains over 600 pieces and was used at the Bird Banding Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland.
Object ID: USGS-000219
The kit contains over 600 pieces and was used at the Bird Banding Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland.
Object ID: USGS-000219
The U.S. Geological Survey Bird Banding Laboratory: an integrated scientific program supporting research and conservation of North American birds
Related Content
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 can be legally placed on birds that are released to the wild within the United States. Banders...
How can I stop birds from repeatedly hitting my windows?
Bird collisions with glass can occur for several reasons, reflection , transparency or for territory . Glass on our windows and doors can reflect surrounding vegetation or sky giving the illusion that it’s a landscape that birds can use. Transparency can also occur when a bird is able to see true habitat through a set of windows and perceives the space as a fly-through. For example, a transparency...
Measuring the wing length of a banded Iiwi
Measuring the wing length of a banded Iiwi
by Susan Haig, Wildlife Ecologist
New research indicates that birds are listening to the landscape to find their way
By Jon Hagstrum, Research Geophysicist
New research indicates that birds are listening to the landscape to find their way
By Jon Hagstrum, Research Geophysicist
A color banded plover in the hand of a scientist.
A color banded plover in the hand of a scientist.
Two Yupik Eskimo students from Chevak, Alaska holding a tundra swan cygnet. These student volunteers were helping with an annual USGS waterfowl banding program along the Kashunuk River near the Bering Sea coast in western Alaska.
Two Yupik Eskimo students from Chevak, Alaska holding a tundra swan cygnet. These student volunteers were helping with an annual USGS waterfowl banding program along the Kashunuk River near the Bering Sea coast in western Alaska.
The kit contains over 600 pieces and was used at the Bird Banding Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland.
Object ID: USGS-000219
The kit contains over 600 pieces and was used at the Bird Banding Laboratory at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Maryland.
Object ID: USGS-000219