Report a Band

There are a variety of types of bird bands. While federal bird bands and auxiliary markers should be reported to the Bird Banding Laboratory along with bands belonging to foreign banding schemes, there are many that should not be reported to our agency. Non-federal band types are listed here with some ways to identify them and where they can be reported.

Most bands are made of an aluminum alloy and have unique numbers engraved. These numbers can wear off with time to the point that one number, a few numbers, or the whole band becomes illegible. The time for a bird band to wear off depends on the amount of time that bird species spends in the water and its habits. For instance, a band on a Mallard may wear off one number in 6 to 8 years, while a...

There are three common types of bands used on wild birds in North America: (1) standard butt-end bands, (2) lock-on bands used on hawks and owls, (3) rivet bands used on eagles.

Many researchers use other auxiliary (color leg bands, neck collars, radio transmitters, flags and tags) markers along with federal bands to allow them to identify an individual bird at a distance. To use any of these auxiliary markers researchers need to have federal banding permits and additional marking authorization. See examples of common auxiliary markers below.