TRACING A BIRD'S LEG BAND
Whether imported or domestic, open or closed banded, the leg band carries letters and numbers which identify the bird. Import bands are traceable. Domestic bands purchased from bird associations and some commercial vendors are also traceable.
Imported Birds
Imported birds are open banded at the quarantine stations before release. There are two types of quarantine stations, privately owned commercial import stations and USDA-owned and operated stations. The coding on the leg bands is different for each. The following information on import bands was printed in an article from Pet Business Magazine June, 1987 and may have changed since then.
USDA-owned and operated quarantine stations use bands with letters and three or four numbers. The letters refer to the name of the station:
- Honolulu, HI - HH
Key West, FL - T
Miami, FL - 58A, 58B, 58C, 58D, 58E, 58F or USDA-F
Newburgh, NY - NNY
The letters on the leg bands of USDA-regulated pet bird quarantine stations refer to location and are followed by three or four numbers:
- Brownsville, TX - USDAB
Honolulu, HI - USDAH
Los Angeles, CA - USDAA
Miami, FL - USDAM
Mission, TX - USDAX ** for confiscated birds being put up for auction.
Newburgh, NY - USDANNY
San Ysidro, CA - USDAN
Privately owned commercial import stations use bands with an alphanumeric code - three letters followed by three numbers. The first letter signifies the state in which the station is located:
California - C,O
Florida - F
Hawaii - H
Illinois - I
Louisiana - L
Michigan - M
New York - N
Texas - T
The second letter denotes the quarantine station, while the third letter is part of the bird's ID number. For additional information regarding the numbers and letters on a bird's import band, call the USDA Administration Office Department of Agriculture, Fish, & Wildlife.
Domestic Birds
Domestic birds wear closed bands. Their traceability depends upon the source of the band. Many bird associations such as SPBE, AFA or species related organizations offer record keeping services and bands to their members. There are other band providers who provide both traceable and non-traceable bands. To trace a band which has an organization name engraved on it, you would contact the organization engraved on the band. Each organization will have its own procedures to trace the band.
For example the bands for SPBE include a breeder code (usually 3 letters), a number (bird identification number) and the year. The initials SPBE also appear - that makes them traceable to that particular organization.
Major band providers, such as L & M Leg Bands and Red Bird, make many of the bands for the organizations mentioned. They also make bands for others, such as individual breeders and aviaries.
L & M offers customers engraving which includes: a buyer id code (up to three characters such as letters, numbers or symbols); a consecutive series of numbers so each band has a unique number for record-keeping; their state or Canadian province abbreviation; and lastly, the year. With the exception of some states, this is all optional. L & M is not imprinted on their bands.
It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to trace a band which does not have an organization code on it. The best course is to contact the major band manufacturers. They have thousands of customers, so it is unlikeley that the band buyer code would be unique. But they may be able to provide the names of a few breeders using this code, which is a starting point. The more information which has been engraved on the band, the better the chances of tracing it.
There are some states, such as Colorado or New Jersey, which have regulations which make tracing of bands easier. In Colorado the state assigns unique breeder codes that must appear on the bands, making them traceable. New Jersey requires band manufacturers to make sure that no one uses the same code twice and an 'NJ' in an oval must also appear on the bands. In California, budgies must have a traceable state registered closed band on in order to be sold, traded or bartered legally in the state.
Leg Bands are not the only means of identifying a bird and they definitely have their pros and cons. However, they are currently the method required by many governmental organizations. For this reason, it is important for owners to understand as much as they can about banding.
