Q: My cockatiel has a ring on its leg with letters and numbers on it. What is it for?
– Beverly F., Staten Island, NY
A: The ring is called a leg band and it is intended as a means to identify your bird’s place of origin as well as some other information.
The practice of banding began in North America a couple of hundred years ago by field researchers in an effort to keep track of the populations of wild migratory birds and local flocks.
In later years, as parrots became popular pets in North America, their importation (as well as all other bird species) began being carefully tracked by USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Imported birds often bring with them the diseases that are prevalent in their native habitats and following an outbreak of psittacosis in the early 1900s, the US clamped down on bird importation and finally set a ban on it in 1992.
Because banding is practical, safe and non-invasive to a bird, you almost never see a bird in the company of humans without one. There are two kinds of legbands that are relative to us as parrot owners:
- The closed leg bands that we see on parrots indicate that it has been captive bred. This band is an unbroken ring that is slid onto the small leg of hatchling and becomes a permanent fixture once the bird has reached maturity.
- The open band, a rounded split ring that is placed on the leg of an adult bird, indicates that it was at one point detained in an importation station. A bird with an open band was either brought into the country as a wild caught bird prior to the importation ban, or was transported as a pet from another country and stayed in the importation station during a period of quarantine.
Because there are so many leg bands on so many birds for so many different reasons, it makes sense that each should bear markings that make them distinguishable from all others. Eventually, early in the leg band’s history, a much needed system began to develop using numbers and letters that revealed information about the wearer’s origins.
Unfortunately the system is not yet a universal one within the breeding community. The closed bands we see on most companion birds do not always carry the same information. The breeder’s ID code, the year of hatching and an ID# assigned to the bird may or may not all appear on a band.
Unless the bands were supplied to the breeder through a parrot society, such as the AFA (American Federation of Aviculture), there are no standards for the information that is contained on them. There are many breeders out there doing things in their own ways because there isn’t a system to follow that has been set in stone.
Usually, there are letters that identify the breeder’s state that can give you a starting point for investigation.
The open band is by far the easier to track. Importation stations are either USDA owned (most are closed now) or privately owned (but supervised by the USDA), meaning that there are only two band code systems to consider and each relates to a limited number of importation stations throughout the country (less than 100 compared to the thousands of breeders using closed bands.)
A USDA band will always carry the letter USDA followed by 2 or 3 letters that identify the state, and city if more than one station exists in that state. It will be followed by 3 or 4 identifying numbers, for example: USDAM 1234. This traces back to a station in Miami.
A quarantine band from a privately owned station will always have three letters followed by three numbers, such as CRO 123. The first letter indicates the state is California, the second letter IDs the station and the third letter and the following three numbers identify the bird.
Patty Jourgensen specializes in avian health, behavior and nutrition and has been working with and caring for rescue birds since 1987.
161 comments
SK 457 Patagonian CONUR ????
I have rescued 2 cockatiels from a bad house and the lutino has a leg band on “her” right leg it’s a closed band that has HAI FL 2188(goes with the band) and AFA
My U2 Has a closed band . Says DF FL (is sideways) numbers are257. Can anyone assist me with origin please
My U2 Has a closed band . Says DF FL (is sideways) numbers are257. Can anyone assist me with origin please
I metal detect and I’ve found a bird band but know bird but how do you report the number1912small 50vertical79followed by small 51so together191250 vertical79 then 51
My mother got an African Grey and her leg band says RAM NEH 03 46. Is there a way I can find out wat it means
Adopted a Congo grey with tag PNT NY 5061. I’m hoping these numbers somehow indicate the year he was hatched in NY
Hi long story but I’ve taken on a macaw from a car garage that was no longer wanted (his doing marvellous and a completely different bird since joining us) he has no band how and where do I start to get him one Cheers xx
Was given a sun conure it has a closed band with this info. GRB CA 14 147 CAN YOU HELP ME DECIFER THE INFORMATION
A monumental task, but it looks like there’s a need for a site that’s dedicated to compiling a database of band number identification like the FBI’s IAFIS, or the newer DNA database
Hello! I recently adopted a DYH Amazon and couldn’t find her tag ID anywhere. I noticed on this page you have a bird with a tag starting in RDS. Mine has the same what does that mean? It also says 90- does that mean born in 90? She could be around 33 yrs of age so it may make sense.
Just found a parakeet with a band that has PSI 776 09. Had I only walked out the door a few minutes sooner I might have been able to save her. She is a blue and white with a blueish cere that is now turned brown so she must have gotten out during breeding. She was still warm when I picked her up. She looks the ones I had growing up. I am going to bury her little body.
I just got a conure and it has a leg band but I can’t seem to identify it anywhere. The number starts with BPD . Where can I look it up
I got a budgerigar and his id ring is dark blue and it says 6 then a bird symbol c 3 5 7 9 and then 23 sideways what does that stand for?
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Why does anyone ask any questions this ignorant site doesn’t answer anybody’s questions?? I have a bird band to I would like to know what my parakeets age was the numbers on the band are A 229845 but you say leave a comment why? You don’t answer anyone!!!!
We have a amazon mascow parrot. It was given to us. He has a ring around hir anckle and hes been pcking at it.when we first got the parrot it was melnutrian and neglected and lost alot of his feathers. We had since Jan. 2023 and his feathers has not grown back since now. But other then that he has gain alot of weight and been happy and very playful with his toys. And now hes trying to speak. Coy words that we say to him. And only now he starting to come out of his cage. But he still wont let us pet him orhold him . So any one got any feed back for us. Thank you all for letting me vent. But we love him and we dont want anything to happen to him .
i have 2 parakeets, and there leg band numbers are numbers, and ive looked up it for hours. all the websites i go to say its letters… what do i do? there numbers are 8437-22B and 1137-22B
I found a bird ring with the markings 94 625rp np a. How can I identify what it belonged to?
My cockatiel just died. We don’t know how old it was, but we guessed it was over 25. The numbers on the band are MS MN 1320. Can this be used to trace this bird? Thanks, John M.
I bought my budgerigar at a local pet store sold as 16 to 18 weeks old his band says BO21 5410
I bought a cockatoo a year ago, it has a closed band. HCA 7519 I’ve been trying to find any info on this haven’t had any luck. I would like to know he’s age and if he is actually a he
My umbrella cockatoo band reads FFB 28 can anyone help?
My african gray left leg ring written ZBF 20 WHAT IT MEANS ANY ONE TELL ME
I have a budgie who’s leg band reads PB 989 I can’t find any info about it to try and find out her exact hatch day.
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