Reading Your Bird’s Leg Band

 

Your bird has a ring (leg band) on its leg with letters and numbers on it. What is it for?

Purpose and History of the Leg Band

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.

Types of Leg Bands

There are two kinds of leg bands 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.

Is the Information Included on Leg Bands Consistent? 

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. 

Included Information on Closed Bands 

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. But this is not always the case. 

Included Information on Open Bands

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.

Will Having a Leg Band Help me get my Parrot Back if Lost? 

Leg bands can be a way to identify a lost parrot if you have documented the information on the leg band. This should include pictures of the leg band and also writing down all the letters and numbers on the band so that you can use this to prove ownership to the person who has found your bird. 

If you happen to be the one who has found a lost bird it is important not to publicly share the information on the band but ask for anyone claiming to be the owner to provide the information from the band as a way to prove ownership. Unfortunately scammers and thieves will come out of the woodwork to try and claim parrots because of their monetary value. 

The Downsides of Leg Bands


Leg Bands are not Permanent 

A leg band is limited to only being a identifier of the bird if the bird is still wearing it. Just like a description of what a missing person is wearing the last time they were seen, it can be changed. Leg bands can easily be removed by a finder if they are trying to hide this evidence of ownership for the purpose of keeping the bird or reselling it. 

Leg Bands do not Lead a Finder to the Owner

Unlike a dog tag that contains information to contact the owner of the lost dog, leg bands don't have any of this information nor is there any way to register the information of the leg band in a data base the way you can a microchip

Leg Bands can Cause Serious Injuries to Your Bird

Generally speaking closed leg bands (if applied correctly and of the correct size) are pretty safe for birds and they can wear them their entire lives without incident. But, accidents do happen and there is always a risk of injury for a bird wearing a band.

Some of the injuries that can happen are: 

  • The band can get caught on toys or cages and cause sprains, abrasions, cuts, dislocations and breaks. 
  • If your bird is injured on the leg that the band is on and there is swelling the band can cause circulation issues making the original injury much more serious and making removal of the band more difficult. 
  • If the band is not sized correctly or not applied correctly it can rub and cause irritation or even impede movement leading to more permanent injuries to the joint near the leg band. 
  • A bird can swallow a band that has been broken (more likely with open bands). 

Deciding to Remove the Band or Not?

If your bird has an open band, removing it should be highly considered as they pose the greatest risk and are just not worth exposing the bird to these dangers. 

Closed bands are safer and do have the advantage of adding an addtional way for an owner to prove a bird is theirs in the event the bird is lost and then found, so if it fits well and is of the correct size it can be worth keeping on a bird. An avian or exotic veterinarian can examine the band during a wellness exam to ensure it fits correctly. 

If you decide to remove the band from the bird's leg this should be done by a veterinarian only to prevent injury to the bird during the procedure. Depending on the band and the individual bird your veterinarian will advise on if they recommend removal and if it will require sedation or not. 

Microchips are a More Reliable Proof of Ownership

Microchips have so many more advantages for identifying a parrot and getting it back to it's owner: 

  • Cannot be removed easily as they are embedded under the skin. 
  • Can be scanned which will provide the owner contact information. 
  • Does not cause injury or harm to the bird by getting caught on anything. 

For more information on microchips please refer to our blog post Microchipping Your Parrot

Other Resources

I Found a Bird! Now What? (This free guide is to help anyone who has found a bird (wild or tame) and is wondering what to do with the bird.)

Recovering a Lost Bird Guide (A helpful free guide full of tips on how to recover your lost bird and what measures you can take ahead of time to mitigate risks.)

Patty Jourgensen specializes in avian health, behavior and nutrition and has been working with and caring for rescue birds since 1987.

Updated and Edited by Kim Russell, Parrot Behavior and Diet Consultant, on 10/25/24

 

178 comments

James

I have rescued a Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot. I am trying to read its band. I would like to try to get it’s birthdate and sex of possible. The band is on the the right foot and is marked with LTB FL 07(sideways) 3533. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

James
Julie

My Macaw has 85 nfq 099 on it. Just wanting to know where he came from and possible age.

Julie
Stephanie

Iv got an umbrella cockatoo that Iv had for 10 years and Iv always wondered what the letters and numbers meant. Hers is NMA 5852

Stephanie
Tanner

My parrot has an open band with FNS 099 on it. Trying to find any info on the bird would be awesome I’ve had it for more than 20 years

Tanner
Christina Blackstone

My neighbor has a quaker parrot with BR FL 640 on a blue closed band

Christina Blackstone
Adriene Titchenell

My pineapple green cheek conure has a dark green open band number A3691

Adriene Titchenell
Sarah Lamonica

Our cockatiel has a closed aluminum band reading Jonst 42 . we would love to know how old he may be. He was found in the wild and we have had him for 21 years. It was estimated he was 2 years old when found.

Sarah Lamonica
Hannah Choi

My lutino budgie has a green leg band. I have no idea on how to identify it. Mabye you can help me. It’s an open one. My birb is CP2008. ??

Hannah Choi
Beth

KALI…if you see this, my bird is JJ TX 067. I have not been able to find info on this band either. We believed her to be 17, that’s what her previous owner told us. My vet says she’s more like 30 because of her open band.

Beth
Bernadette

My husband found this ring if the woods that we think is a bird’s leg band but we are not sure. Maybe you can tell us by the lettering and numbers that is on it? DMV 2020 1455 Is this a bird band and if so what kind of bird did it come off of?

Bernadette
Jacqueline

I bought a Budgie off a breeder and it has a band on what does it mean? PEI06 |17|

Jacqueline
Amanda Kelly

My birds leg band reads HRC 21 P 22 can anyone help me on what that means

Amanda Kelly
Manjula

I found a bird, tagging no. A40. What it mean

Manjula
Kali

Any one ever seen JJTX on a breeder band? Can’t find it anywhere on breeder lists assuming Tx but the only 2 numbers on my macaws band are 81 …. if this is his hatch year the rescue lied to me saying he was 17 he’d be 39 🙁

Kali
Rosie

I rescued a Blue Fronted Amazon and an Eclectus. My amazon’s ring says USDAM 342, and my Eclectus says AFA (sideways) HCA 1190. Any information would be great. Thanks!

Rosie
Italia

My 2 parakeets the one is A30671 and the other one is A291080 I would love to know the age :)

Italia
Jessica Keuning

My birds band says. 98 acs 176m 031 Any information Would be honored to know. Thank you!

Jessica Keuning
Chanell

My blue quaker parakeets ring just says 45

Chanell
Aurelia

On my parrot foot ring says 20 6.0 6 481CZ . could anyone explain me what does mean?

Aurelia
Courtland Chaney

I have a quaker parrot. Band is closed with RF-17. 2017 WHAT DOES THE RF-17 STAND FOR? THANK YOU

Courtland Chaney
KK

Many closed bands will have this format: Breeder, sideways state abbreviation, hatch year, individual bird number If you see sideways letters that should be the state abbreviation. Just like on mail. A 2 digit number after the state (not sideways) should be the hatch year. A number after that, usually 3 digits, is the bird’s is number the breeder uses for records. For example, a band reading HURRI FL 15 257 would be from Hurricane Aviary in Florida, the bird was hatched/born in 2015, and the individual bird was assigned #257 in the breeder’s records. If you were to contact the aviary, they may tell you whatever info they have on that bird, such as hatchdate. Sometimes you might have to do some sleuthing online to figure out the breeder or aviary name. Sometimes it’s just initials. Sometimes the band has the initials of an organization they’re registered through, like American Cockatiel Society etc. The band won’t tell you the gender, but it can tell you the state and year of hatch, and some info to track down the breeder and if they’re still around, you could try to get in touch and find out some more info, like actual hatch month/day. A DNA test can be done to find out gender quite easily. I use Animal Genetics out of Tallahassee FL. Hope that helps!

KK
Kyra

My fancy parakeet has a left leg open band that says, A275099. Is there a way to determine where it originated from, and the actual birth month? When I got him last November 2020 they said he was 4-6 weeks old.

Kyra
Cassie A Smith

My bird has a open band, round. LAC H1 06 OR LAC HI 06 Try n to find out how old he is & if he is an import or not. Thanks

Cassie A Smith
Kkkent

Pet USA 19843 found this green parakeet

Kkkent
J Perr

Seems like NOBODY knows what the band’s mean & are just bird bling.

J Perr

Leave a comment

All comments are moderated before being published