Instructions
Identifying Pet Birds
Birds that have been caught in the wild and imported to the United States will have an open band. An open band is one placed on an adult bird's leg and squeezed shut so it won't fall off. There are two types of quarantine facilities, one facility that is owned by the United States Department of Agriculture and others that are privately operated. The coding on the bands is different. USDA stations require bands with letters and three or four numbers. The letters on the band identify the name of the station and are always prefaced by "USDA." For instance, the code for Los Angeles, California is USDAA; the code for Miami, Florida, USDAM. The numbers following the station identification identify the specific bird. Private stations, of which there are only eight, use three letters followed by three numbers. The first letter represents the state: M for Michigan, T for Texas and so on. The second letter is the one associated with the quarantine station, and the third is the beginning of the bird's personal ID. The USDA is located in Washington, D.C. and can provide information on its stations and the names of other privately owned stations.
Domestic birds are closed-banded, which means the bands were placed on their legs when they were about two weeks old. There are several organizations that provide bands to domestic bird breeders. Among them is the SPBE, the Society of Parrot Breeders and Exhibitors, and the AFA, the American Federation of Aviculture. The SPBE provides a traceable band featuring a breeder's code and bird ID number. The initials of one of these organizations, or of another species-orientated group that can track banded birds, should be on the band. The organization will supply information about the breeder since the breeder will be registered with the organization. Some bands have unique breeder codes to aid in tracing a bird's origin. Other bands feature a buyer's ID code.
Bird bands are the most widely used means of identification but microchip implantation and DNA collecting are becoming increasingly popular. At this time, however, the USDA and other government organizations require that birds, whether domestic or imported, be banded with coded bands. For this reason the band on a bird's leg should never be removed. Some breeders don't band their birds and some bands from generic sources aren't traceable: when purchasing a bird, you should consider whether or not it is properly banded.
How to Research Bands on Your Pet Bird
Birds are banded for several reasons but the most important one is for identification. Pet owners can track lost or stolen birds. Banding aids the government in tracking bird smugglers and keeps illegal birds from being sold. It gives research teams the data to keep track of bird populations. Birds are also banded for breeding purposes: bands enable breeders to identify genetic lines and prevent inbreeding. Knowing how to read the information on a pet bird's band is invaluable to the owner faced with the situation of having to file documents for stolen pets.