Supplies for Banding Finches

Breeders often band birds to keep track of blood lines and to identify birds they have sold. Banding can also be done to quickly identify a bird's gender. The supplies required for banding finches are very simple; the type of supplies needed depends on what type of band is being used.

  1. Closed Metal Bands

    • There are no special tools required for closed metal bands. The bands simply slip on to a baby bird's leg by passing over the still-soft ankle joint.

    Open Plastic Bands

    • Open bands are made of colored plastic and come with a small tool that looks a bit like a tube with a slice missing out of it. The trough is thinner at the end and gets wider toward the bottom. When you slip the band onto the thin end and slide it down to the thicker bottom, it forces the band open. The finch's leg fits inside the trough, and once you slide the tool off, the band will close around the leg.

    Homemade Bands

    • Dr. Geoffrey Hill, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Auburn University, published a study entitled "An Inexpensive Source of Colored Leg Bands," in which he describes making homemade leg bands from craft beads by splitting the plastic beads with a razor. The split beads require the same trough tool as open plastic leg bands.