Bird Banding

Bird Banding or ringing is essential to study individual or groups of birds within a population. Ringing involves catching a bird and putting a numbered metal ring on the tarsus bone, which will help the ringers in individual identification. While ringing, the ringer can identify the bird in hand and also take morphometric details and other data from the bird. All the details recorded are carefully entered in data sheets. In future, if the bird is recaptured or killed, the finder reports the number and the place of capture to the organization that ringed the bird thus revealing the whereabouts of the bird. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. Aims of Bird Banding: 1. To find out the movements of birds, flyways and distribution ranges. 2. To know the longetivity of individuals within a species. 3. To gather information on annual life cycles and moult pattern. 4. To determine population breeding success from adult/juvenile ratios. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. Holding Birds for Banding: While banding, the bird is to be held in one hand with its neck between the first and second finger, the thumb and the third finger controlling the body and holding the leg for fixing the band. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. Banding: All bands or rings have a particular size, code, number and address engraved on it. The bander has to select the correct band size depending on the tarsus of the bird. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. Fixing bands: After identifying the bird, the proper band has to be fixed on the tarsus bone with the help of pliers. The band should move freely on the tarsus and it should not be too loose to come off. For land birds we can fix the band in lower tarsus but for water birds it should be in upper tarsus to avoid corrosion. In the even years band will be fixed to the right leg and in the odd years to the left leg. © Mallikarjuna.D.G. History of Bird Banding in India: The banding of birds was first initiated by the then Maharaja of Dhar (Madhya Pradesh) in the year 1926. The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) supplied him 500 metal bands which he used on migratory ducks and teals. Thereafter, irregular banding camps were arranged in different parts of the country by the BNHS. Large scale banding was started in 1959 under the guidance of late Dr.Salim Ali in a World Health Organisation project to study the dissemination of arthropod borne viruses by birds. From 1980 onwards, the BNHS has been involved in regular bird banding operations in different sanctuaries and national parks. The studies helped to obtain comprehensive information on breeding ranges, migration routes, important staging areas and non- breeding sites. Viewed 2226 Times | Comments (0)

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