Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the measurements taken during the capture, such as molt, fat content, age, sex, wing and tail. An added bonus is the occasional ability to re-find a the same individual later. This recapture or recovery of the bird can provide information that includes migration, longevity, mortality, population studies, territoriality, feeding behaviour, and other aspects that are studied by ornithologists.
Read more about Bird Ringing: Terminology and Techniques, History, Some Results
Famous quotes containing the words bird and/or ringing:
“Mr. Bok is giving the bird sanctuary as a tract of land at this place. He is dedicating it as a bird sanctuary and putting up these bells to interest the birds in music.”
—Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933)
“As soon as I suspect a fine effect is being achieved by accident I lose interest. I am not interested ... in unskilled labor.... The scientific actor is an even worker. Any one may achieve on some rare occasion an outburst of genuine feeling, a gesture of imperishable beauty, a ringing accent of truth; but your scientific actor knows how he did it. He can repeat it again and again and again. He can be depended on.”
—Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865–1932)