Bird ringing (also known as bird banding) is an aid to studying wild birds, by attaching a small individually numbered metal or plastic ring to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later. This can include migration, longevity, mortality, population studies, feeding behaviour, and many other aspects. Orders Many - see section below. ... // Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the southern hemisphere. ...

A ringed Ruby-crowned Kinglet recaptured in a mist net

Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 701 KB) Photo of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, previously banded, caught in a mist net. ... Download high resolution version (1704x2272, 701 KB) Photo of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, previously banded, caught in a mist net. ... Binomial name Regulus calendula (Linnaeus, 1766) The Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula, is a very small songbird. ...

Introduction

Birds are either ringed at the nest, or after being trapped in fine mist nets, Heligoland traps, duck decoys or similar. A basket style nest A nest is place of refuge built to hold an animals eggs and/or provide a place to raise their offspring. ... Mist nets are used by ornithologists to capture wild birds for banding or other research projects. ... A Heligoland trap is a large, building- sized, funnel- shaped, rigid structure used to trap birds, so that they can be ringed or otherwise studied by ornithologists. ...

A ring of suitable size is attached, and has on it a unique number, plus a contact address. The bird is often weighed and measured, and examined for parasites (which may then be removed) before release. The rings are very light-weight, and have no adverse affect on the birds. The individual birds can then be identified when they are re-trapped, or found dead.

The finder can contact the address on the ring, give the unique number, and be told the known history of the bird's movements.

The organising body, by collating many such reports, can then determine patterns of bird movements for large populations.

The first organised schemes for bird ringing were started (in 1909) by Arthur Landsborough Thomson in Aberdeen and Harry Witherby in England, though smaller individual marking tests had began some years earlier in Denmark and Germany. 1909 (MCMIX) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Sir Arthur Landsborough Thomson (October 8, 1890 - June 9, 1977) was a Scottish ornithologist. ... Henry Forbes Witherby (1873-1943); known as Harry) was a noted British ornithologist, author, publisher and founding editor (in 1907) of British Birds (Magazine). ...

Similar schemes

Wing tags

In some surveys, involving larger birds such as eagles, brightly-coloured plastic tags are attached to birds' wing feathers. Each has a letter or letters, and the combination of colour and letters uniquely identifies the bird. These can then be read in the field, through binoculars, meaning that there is no need to re-trap the birds. Because the tags are attached to feathers, they drop off when the bird moults. Imping is the practice of replacing a bird's normal feather with a brightly-colored false feather. A patagial tag is a permanent tag held onto the wing by a rivet punched through the patagium. In animals, moulting (Commonwealth English) or molting (American English) is the routine shedding off old feathers in birds, or of old skin in reptiles, or of old hairs in mammals (see also coat (dog)). In arthropods, such as insects, arachnids and crustaceans, moulting describes the shedding of its exoskeleton (which... In bats, the skin forming the surface of the wing. ...

Radio transmitters and satellite-tracking

Where detailed information is needed on an individuals' movements, scientists can fit tiny radio transmitters to birds. For small species the transmitter is carried as a 'backpack' fitted over the wing bases, and for larger species it may be attached to a tail feather or temporary leg band. Both types usually have a tiny (10cm) flexible aerial to improve signal reception. Two field receivers (reading distance and direction) are needed to establish the bird's position using triangulation. Transmitters may be recovered by recapturing the bird or designed to drop off. The technique is useful for tracing individuals during landscape-level movements particularly in dense vegetation (such as tropical forests) and for shy or difficult-to-spot species, because birds can be located from a distance without visual confirmation. The use of satellite transmitters for bird movements is currently restricted by transmitter size - to species larger than about 400g. They may be attached to migratory birds (geese and swans are popular subjects) or other species undergoing longer-distance flights. Individuals may be tracked by satellites for immense distances, for the lifetime of the transmitter battery. As with wing tags, the transmitters may be designed to drop off when the bird moults; or they may be recovered by recapturing the bird. // Long-distance land bird migration Many species of land birds migrate very long distances, the most common pattern being for birds to breed in the temperate or arctic northern hemisphere and winter in warmer regions, often in the tropics or the southern hemisphere. ...

A Brandt's Cormorant fledgling with a green field-readable J75

Download high resolution version (890x668, 304 KB) Brandt Cormorant fledgeling with band, Farallon Islands. ... Download high resolution version (890x668, 304 KB) Brandt Cormorant fledgeling with band, Farallon Islands. ... Binomial name Phalacrocorax penicillatus (Brandt, 1837) The Brandts Cormorant (Phalacrocorax penicillatus ) is a strictly marine bird of the cormorant family of seabirds that inhabits the Pacific coast of North America. ...

Field-readable rings

A field-readable is a ring or rings, usually made from plastic and brightly coloured, which may also have conspicuous markings in the form of letters and/or numbers. They are used by biologists working in the field to identify individual birds without recapture and with a minimum of disturbance to their behaviour. Rings large enough to carry numbers are usually restricted to larger birds, although if necessary small extensions to the rings (leg flags) bearing the identification code allow their use on slightly smaller species. For small species (e.g. most passerines), individuals can be identified by using a combination of small rings of different colours, which are read in a specific order. Most colour-marks of this type are considered temporary (the rings degrade, fade and may be lost or removed by the birds) and individuals are usually also fitted with a permanent metal ring.

Colour-ringed Passerini's Tanager wearing 4 rings in the combination yellow-white-lime-blue Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1128x1406, 95 KB)Female Passerinis Tanager in the hand, colour ringed (and photographed) during licensed research work in Costa Rica by Rachel C. Taylor (email contact fidhw@yahoo. ...

Colour-ringed White-collared Manakin (juvenile male) in Costa Rica. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1104x1252, 52 KB)Juvenile male White-Collared Manikin colour-ringed during research work in Costa Rica by Rachel C. Taylor (email contact fidhw@yahoo. ...

Other markers

Head and neck markers are very visible, and may be used in species where the legs are not normally visible (such as ducks and geese). Nasal discs and nasal saddles can be attached to the culmen with a pin looped through the nostrils in birds with perforate nostrils. They should not be used if they obstruct breathing. They should not be used on birds that live in icy climates, as accumulation of ice on a nasal saddle can plug the nostrils. Neck collars made of expandable, non-heat-conducting plastic are very useful for larger birds such as geese.

Some results

An Arctic Tern ringed as a chick not yet able to fly, on the Farne Islands off the Northumberland coast in eastern Britain in summer 1982, reached Melbourne, Australia in October 1982, a sea journey of over 22,000 km (14,000 miles) in just three months from fledging. This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The Inner Farne seen from Seahouses harbour The Farne Islands (also referred to less formally as the Farnes) are a group of islands off the coast of Northumberland, England. ... Northumberland is a traditional, ceremonial and administrative county in northern England. ... Melbourne is the state capital and largest city in the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-largest city in Australia (after Sydney), with a population of approximately 3. ...

A Manx Shearwater ringed as an adult (at least 5 years old), breeding on Copeland Island, Northern Ireland, is currently (2003/2004) the oldest known wild bird in the world: ringed in July 1953, it was retrapped in July 2003, at least 55 years old. Other ringing recoveries have shown that Manx Shearwaters migrate over 10,000 km to waters off southern Brazil and Argentina in winter, so this bird has covered a minimum of 1,000,000 km on migration alone (not counting day-to-day fishing trips). Another bird nearly as old, breeding on Bardsey Island off Wales was calculated by ornithologist Chris Mead to have flown over 8 million km (5 million miles) during its life (and this bird is still alive in 2003, having outlived Chris Mead).
Copeland, ringed 1953
Copeland Bird Observatory
BBC News
Bardsey Island, ringed 1957
Bardsey Island Bird Observatory
BBC News
Wildlife Britain news
Patagial tags in crows Binomial name Puffinus puffinus (Brünnich, 1764) The Manx Shearwater (Puffinus puffinus) is a medium-sized shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae. ... The Copeland Islands is a group of islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland consisting of Lighthouse, Mew and Copeland Island. ... Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Official languages None3 Main languages English, Irish, Ulster Scots Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked... Bardsey Island (Welsh: Ynys Enlli) lies off the Lleyn peninsula, in north Wales. ... For an explanation of often confusing terms such as Great Britain, Britain, United Kingdom and England, see British Isles (terminology). ... Christopher John (Chris) Mead (b. ...

See also

• Ornithology
• British Trust for Ornithology

This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in Britain. ...

References

• Knox, A.G. 1982. Ringing pioneer. BTO News No. 122, p.8.
• Knox, A.G. 1983. The location of the Ringing Registers of the Aberdeen University Bird-Migration Inquiry. Ringing and Migration 4: 148. (This has a number of additional references.)

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in Britain. ...

External links

• EURING (Co-ordinating organisation for European bird-ringing schemes)
• Canadian Migration Monitoring Network (Co-ordinates bird migration monitoring (includes bird banding) stations across Canada)
• ARANEA Metal bird rings (bands) producer