![]() ![]() Once the leg ring has been removed and / or replaced, there is little proof of prior ownership. Unscrupulous people can remove leg rings (although heavy duty rings on large birds such as macaws are obviously difficult to get off).If you don’t have the leg ring number written down in your records, the ring is just a ring in the event of a dispute over ownership. While this can be proof of ownership or as a means of identifying a bird for sexing purposes, they have limited use in tracing ownership of lost birds. They often only have the breeder’s or bird club initials and an identifying number. Leg rings are too small for owners’ names and addresses.This is particularly noticeable in budgies with Scaly Face Mite when the legs are affected, and the skin thickens. Any leg ring can trap debris between the skin and the ring, again causing a tourniquet-like effect.This is particularly a problem with over-sized rings. Any leg ring can be caught in a piece of wire or a branch, trapping the bird and causing injury.This effectively acts as a tourniquet, cutting off the circulation below the limb and resulting in the loss of the leg (and pain, suffering and often the death of the bird). Split rings made from aluminium or plastic can be squeezed by the bird’s beak, the edges forced to overlap, and then the ring compresses around the leg.There are several problems with leg rings: Others are soft and malleable, being made of aluminium or plastic. Some are quite sturdy, made of stainless steel. Split rings (a piece of metal that is split on one side and the ends are squeezed together with pliers) can be placed on a bird of any age and are not as definitive as proof of ownership. Wild-caught birds, unless taken from the nest as chicks, cannot have a closed ring applied. Closed rings (rings made of a continuous piece of metal with no join) can usually only be placed on a bird when a chick, and therefore are valuable pieces of evidence as to the origin of that bird. It is a common practice to place a leg band or ring on birds. ![]() Relying on a bird’s appearance and/or behaviour has limited value or appeal for someone worried about their bird’s loss, or for someone wanting to purchase or sell a bird. Of course, these characteristics may only be of value if you have been able to contact the finder of your bird, or the current holder. The important thing with these distinctions is to have a record somewhere of the distinguishing characteristic – perhaps photographs or a recording of the bird. There are several cases where ownership of a disputed bird has been determined by the bird’s ability to say something truly unique about that bird, something that only the owner knew about. In some cases, a bird can be identified by their physical appearance (an unusual species, a unique colour, or colour pattern, or a physical distinction such as a deformed or missing appendage) or by a unique behaviour. This article discusses the different means of doing this, how they are done, and the benefits and disadvantages of each. If your answer to these questions is “No”, then you may need to consider ways of identifying your bird and proving ownership. Can you honestly say that, if your bird was in a cage full of similar birds (species, sex, and colour) that you could unhesitatingly point to one of them and say, “That’s my bird!” If your bird escaped and was handed in to a local animal shelter or veterinary clinic, is there any way that you can be contacted to come and get him/her? If you are buying or selling a bird, can you be confident that you are handling the bird that you want? If you are involved in a legal dispute over the ownership or origin of a bird, can you prove which bird is which in a court of law? ![]()
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