Bird Leg Bands / Leg Ring Information


Young Gouldian Finches are now easy to identify.	Four months later they have changed but their leg bands haven't.

Using Leg Band Colours & Lengths

Here are some ways that you can use finch leg bands / finch leg rings to help identify individual birds, groups of birds and bird families.
These are examples of a Four leg ring color code system a Two leg ring color code system an Olympic leg ring color code system and a Leg ring length code system.
You can also make up your own codes system.

Four Leg Ring Colour Code System

Four Leg Ring Colour Code System The Four leg ring color code system requires less or no written records to be kept as most of the information is worn on the legs. Each extra ring narrows down from a large group to an individual bird. 1. Year of birth colour = all the same colour on those born in the same year. (used for choosing what to breed from and what to sell) 2. Month of birth colour = different age groups. (for breeding) 3. Family colour = brothers and sisters. (not to breed with each other) 4. Pair colour = birds that are breeding. (which is only used on one male and one female top right leg so it is also used to identify individuals) When the birds are ready to sell, some or all of the leg bands can easily be removed.
4. Birds Left Leg - Top This color shows what two birds have formed a pair. Choose a new color that has not already been used on a left leg. This color is also to be used on bottom of their babies left leg.	4. Pair / 2. Month	2. Birds Right Leg - Top Green shows born in May. See Charts below.
3. Birds Left Leg - Bottom This color is to identify the young in the same family. It is to be the same color as the leg band on top of parents left leg.	3. Family / 1. Year	1. Birds Right Leg - Bottom Purple shows born 2011 See Charts below.

1.Year Of Birth Colour Code (leg band on bottom of birds right leg)

Finch leg bands / finch leg rings for showing the year of birth. Every country has developed its own set of colors that rotate to show the year born.
Many have a 6 year colour cycle. This may be because birds are not expected to be breeding or showing at their best after six years.

2. Month Of Birth Colour Code (leg band on top of birds right leg)

Finch leg bands / finch leg rings for showing the month of birth.
Used to identify birds born earlier in the year which will be more mature for breeding the following year than birds born later in the year.

Month
Jan - Brown
Feb - Red
Mar - Orange
Apr - Yellow
May - Green
Jun - Blue
Jul - Purple
Aug - Grey
Sep - White
Oct - Black
Nov - Gold
Dec - Silver

3. Young Bird Family Identification Colour Code (leg band on bottom of birds left leg)

Finch leg bands / finch leg rings for showing the young in the same family.
It is to be the same color as the leg band on top of parents right leg.

Brown
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Grey
White
Black
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Reddish Brown
Beige
Pink
Pearl
Light Green
Light Blue
Flesh Pink
Cream
Clear

4. Breeding Pair Identification Colour Code (leg band on top of birds left leg)

Finch leg bands / finch leg rings for identifing two birds that have formed a pair.
This color is also to be used on bottom of their babies right leg.

Brown
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Grey
White
Black
Gold
Silver
Bronze
Reddish Brown
Beige
Pink
Pearl
Light Green
Light Blue
Flesh Pink
Cream
Clear

Two Leg Ring Colour Code System

Two Leg Ring Colour Code System The Two leg ring color code system only identifies the individual bird and would require matching written records to be kept. The number can be read from the code as the bird faces you.
Birds Left Leg Purple is the code for number 7. See Chart below.	Reads 57 when bird faces you.	Birds Right Leg Green is the code for number 5. See Chart below.

Individual Colour Number Code - Two Leg Ring Colour Code System

Finch leg bands / finch leg rings color coded to numbers. Example Brown + Black = 10
For identifing an individual bird. This would require matching written records to be kept.

1 - Brown
2 - Red
3 - Orange
4 - Yellow
5 - Green
6 - Blue
7 - Purple
8 - Grey
9 - White
0 - Black

Olympic Leg Ring Colour Code System

Olympic Leg Ring Colour Code System Judge your Good, Better & Best birds.
GOLD Gold = Best birds.	SILVER Silver = Better birds.	BRONZE Bronze = Good birds.

Leg Ring Length Code System

Look at the combinations that can be made using a mixture of 2.5mm and 5mm finch leg rings compared to only using 5mm. That is 15 combinations with only one colour taking up 5mm of leg space on each leg.
	5mm leg rings = 3 combinations		2.5mm leg rings = 8 combinations		2.5mm + 5mm leg rings = 15 combinations
	Left Leg	Right Leg	Left Leg	Right Leg	Left Leg	Right Leg
1	5mm	None	2.5mm	None	2.5mm	None
2	None	5mm	None	2.5mm	None	2.5mm
3	5mm	5mm	2.5mm	2.5mm	2.5mm	2.5mm
4			2.5mm, 2.5mm	None	2.5mm, 2.5mm	None
5			None	2.5mm, 2.5mm	None	2.5mm, 2.5mm
6			2.5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm	2.5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm
7			2.5mm, 2.5mm	2.5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm	2.5mm
8			2.5mm, 2.5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm
9					5mm	None
10					None	5mm
11					5mm	5mm
12					2.5mm	5mm
13					5mm	2.5mm
14					2.5mm, 2.5mm	5mm
15					5mm	2.5mm, 2.5mm

Leg Ring Colour Code System Comparison Summary See more detailed explanations further down the page.
Colour	Four Legring Colour Code System	Two Legring Colour Code System	Olympic Legring Colour Code System	Legring Length Code System with maximum 1 x 5mm legband or 1 x 2.5mm legbands on each leg	Legring Length Code System with maximum 1 x 5mm legband or 2 x 2.5mm legbands on each leg
Brown	Identification / Month	Number 1		1 colour = 3 combinations	1 colour = 15 combinations
Red	Identification / Month / Year	Number 2		2 colours = 8 combinations	2 colours = 24 combinations
Orange	Identification / Month	Number 3		3 colours = 15 combinations	3 colours = 35 combinations
Yellow	Identification / Month	Number 4		4 colours = 24 combinations	4 colours = 48 combinations
Green	Identification / Month / Year	Number 5		5 colours = 35 combinations	5 colours = 63 combinations
Blue	Identification / Month / Year	Number 6		6 colours = 48 combinations	6 colours = 80 combinations
Purple	Identification / Month / Year	Number 7		7 colours = 63 combinations	7 colours = 99 combinations
Grey	Identification / Month	Number 8		8 colours = 80 combinations	8 colours = 120 combinations
White	Identification / Month	Number 9		9 colours = 99 combinations	9 colours = 143 combinations
Black	Identification / Month / Year	Number 0		10 colours = 120 combinations	10 colours = 168 combinations
Gold	Identification / Month / Year		Best	11 colours = 143 combinations	11 colours = 195 combinations
Silver	Identification / Month		Better	12 colours = 168 combinations	12 colours = 224 combinations
Bronze	Identification		Good	13 colours = 195 combinations	13 colours = 255 combinations
Reddish Brown	Identification			14 colours = 224 combinations	14 colours = 288 combinations
Beige	Identification			15 colours = 255 combinations	15 colours = 323 combinations
Pink	Identification			16 colours = 288 combinations	16 colours =360 combinations
Pearl	Identification			17 colours = 323 combinations	17 colours = 399 combinations
Light Green	Identification			18 colours = 360 combinations	18 colours = 440 combinations
Light Blue	Identification			19 colours = 399 combinations	19 colours = 483 combinations
Flesh Pink	Identification			20 colours = 440 combinations	20 colours = 528 combinations
Cream	Identification			21 colours = 483 combinations	21 colours = 575 combinations
Clear	Identification			22 colours = 528 combinations	22 colours = 624 combinations

Why use bird leg bands on birds?

Bird leg bands can be used to:
Determine young birds from older breeding birds. Easily keep track by the year of birth.
Note different bloodlines. Related birds can then be kept seperately for breeding.
Identify pairs in a colony. Avoid accidently seperating your pairs or selling your best breeder.
Differentiate between sexes. Useful where male and females look similar.

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