Bird ringing (UK) or bird banding (US) is the attachment of a small, individually numbered metal or plastic tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. This helps in keeping track of the movements of the bird and its life history. It is common to take measurements and examine conditions of feather molt, subcutaneous fat, age indications and sex during capture for ringing. The subsequent recapture or recovery of the bird can provide information on migration, longevity, mortality, population, territoriality, feeding behavior, and other aspects that are studied by ornithologists. Other methods of marking birds may also be used to allow for field based identification that does not require capture.
A researcher uses banding pliers to attach a band to the leg of a common yellowthroat.
Ringing of black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Laridae) nestling
A box of equipment for measuring, weighing and ringing birds.
Pupils watch a bird ringing activity during "A day at the wetland", organised by environmental group WWF. The same individual, an adult chaffinch, had been caught again in the same area last year in Lesbos, Greece.
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south, along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by humans, and is driven primarily by the availability of food. It occurs mainly in the northern hemisphere, where birds are funnelled onto specific routes by natural barriers such as the Mediterranean Sea or the Caribbean Sea.
A flock of barnacle geese during autumn migration
Minoan fresco of swallows in springtime at Akrotiri, c. 1500 BC
The Rostocker Pfeilstorch, found in 1822, demonstrated that birds migrated rather than hibernating or changing form in winter.
Flocks of birds assembling before migration southwards (probably common starling)