Bird Banding

[froggij]

This made me think, because I've been asked a couple of times before about my birds' bands. I got each bird a different way and from someone different, and absolutely none of them came with bands. One of my birds was found on the street with a bum leg, I don't know if he didn't develop right in early stages and his foot twisted on its own, or if he was malnourished before he got loose, or if maybe he used to have a band and injured his foot by getting it caught on something and ripped it off, or what, I've always wondered that. One of my birds was given to me by a former co-worker who said the bird had been a "breeder bird" most of her life, but she had no band. The third I got from an independent shop-owner/sometimes breeder, none of their birds in the store have any bands, so I never thought anything of it.

Is banding just to identify a breeder? Do only certain breeders use the bands? Are birds expected to have bands even if they come from private individuals? What are the benefits of having a bird banded?

[Robyn]

Some breeders use bands but those are mostly large scale breeders that sell to pet stores and such.