Banding

Banding is the process of affixing a tiny numbered aluminum band around the leg of a bird, so that the bird can be permanently identified if it’s ever recaptured or recovered. It is a regulated process; the Bird Banding Laboratory, under the U.S. Department of the Interior, issues permits to United States and Canadian banders only for the purposes of scientific research. Most banders are licensed only for birds in general, which excludes certain specialty areas like hummingbirds and raptors. Although there are thousands of permit holders for birds in general, only a few hundred are permitted to band hummingbirds.

Most banders use mist nets (very fine, almost invisible nets into which birds may fly), and even some hummingbird banding is done with mist nets, but more often traps with feeders inside to attract the birds are used. There are a variety of styles of trap, made variously of cage wire, mesh netting, and other materials.

As a means of further identifying the birds, they are often color-marked so that the bird can be identified again without retrapping, at least as long as the temporary color-mark lasts. Use of color marks is also a matter for permits and each bander is restricted as to where he can mark the birds and what colors he can use.