Band Decoding

Quarantine Bands ~ Open Bands

These bands usually indicate wild caught, imported birds that were imported into the United States pre the Wild Bird Conservation Act of 1992 .
The metal that makes the band has been bent into the form of a circle. The ends of the band is separated by a space to enable them to be placed on a mature bird's leg. Once on the bird, it is pinched closed.

USDA-owned and operated quarantine stations use bands with letters and three or four numbers.

There were 85 quarantine stations, located in the following states:
California - 40 - First letter C or O
Hawaii - 2 - First letter H
Florida - 20 - First letter F
Illinois - 7 - First letter I
Louisiana - 6 - First letter L
Michigan - 2 - First letter M
New York - 6 - First letter N
Texas - 2 - First letter T

A quarantine band always had 3 letters and 3-4 numbers.
For example COB 555
The first letter stands for the state, Florida, California, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Louisiana and O's were also used in California because they had more than 24 stations.
The second letter stands for the specific quarantine station.
The third letter is part of the number code. The numbers would stand for the individual bird.

Domestically hatched birds

The reason for breeders to band babies are as followed.
1. To keep records of hatch date, individual history, medical records and ownership.
2.Identification of lost or stolen birds.

Closed bands are circular and seamless and made of Plastic, Aluminum, or Stainless Steel Bands and come in a variety of colors and sizes.

The band traceability depends upon the source of the band. Many associations, such as Society of Parrot Breeders and Exhibitors, American Federation of Aviculture or species-related organizations offer record keeping services.

It you need help tracing your birds band, there is a group out there that may be able to help:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/LegBandNumbers/join