North American Bird Banding Manual

The Canadian Bird Bander's Training Manual and the companion, The Instructor's Guide have been designed to complement each other. Both are the result of the collective work of many experienced banders and trainers from Long Point Bird Observatory. The motivating factors in the production of these manuals have been to ensure the safety and welfare of the birds involved in any banding project, as well as to ensure that banders gather accurate and complete data.

Bird banding properly done is neither cruel nor in any other way harmful. The weight of the bits of aluminum or copper from which the bands are made does not burden the birds, and if the bands are correctly placed there is slight danger of their becoming caught on twigs, thorns, or nesting material.