This is just a friendly PSA to take note of the information on your bird's leg band if they have one. If your bird were to ever get lost outside, knowing your bird's leg band number could be crucial to getting your bird back home safely.
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When birds are reported as "found", there will always be people with ulterior motives trying to claim the bird as theirs. People "claiming" lost birds just to turn around and sell them for money is unfortunately very common in the world of parrots (and we know of several local horror stories of this happening). If there are three people saying that this is their bird, how can we prove who the real owner is?
For the bird's safety, any reputable place will require proof of ownership before handing the bird over. The easiest method to prove ownership that leaves no doubt is knowing their leg band information. If you say your bird has a green band on their right leg that says ABC16, there is no doubt that this is your bird. Take pictures or videos of you with your bird, showing the band as well. Do you have a receipt from where you purchased or adopted the bird with the band number listed with your information? Having all of this information saved in a folder or on your phone/computer will save you a headache when you are panicked over your lost baby.
We also recommend taking note of any distinguishing factors that would help identify your bird. If they have a toe on their right foot that was injured and the toenail now grows a bit crooked, if their beak always has a specific lighter blemish near the top, if they have a unique coloration in their iris on their left eye, etc. Take pictures now of these identifiable features, so that if the worst ever happens, you have clear photos to prove it's a match.
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A side-note on a common myth about leg bands with lost birds:
There is no central database for leg band information that could be used to track down the owner. If we're lucky, the band may say the breeder the bird originally came from, but even then, a lot of breeders don't keep track of who the bird was sold to. Depending on where the bird came from, most leg bands are just a series of random numbers and letters.
If the band is one of ours, we would be able to look up the owner associated with it, but that's as far as our power goes.
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Knowing the information on your bird's leg band could make the difference in getting your bird back home. If you'd like help deciphering the information (it can be difficult to read on squirmy birds), feel free to ask us to write it down the next time you come in for grooming, or ask your vet at their next checkup.
(*The lovebird pictured was not lost/found, he is one of our permanent store pets who was just a good model for this post.)
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