North America Bird Bander
North American Bird Bander is a quarterly publication of the Western, Inland, and Eastern Bird Banding Associations which is of interest to banders, ornithologists, and others interested in birds. It regularly features the following:
- Papers and articles based on original research by banders
- Notes and informal observations about birds
- Reports of association activities
- Reviews of books related to birds
- New techniques in determining the age and sex of wild birds
- Use of special research techniques such as color marking and telemetry
- The best ways to attract birds for capture and study
- How to make and use traps, nets, and banding equipment
- Opportunities to participate in research projects with others
- Ideas for projects of your own
- Suggestions for using the data and statistics you have collected
- Annual banding report to which all members who band in the inland area may contribute
- Research funds information
Manuscript Details for submissions
Questions and requests for assistance with manuscript preparation should be directed to the IBBA Editor:
Peter Lowther
The Field Museum
1400 South Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60605-2496
plowther@fieldmuseum.org
North American Bird Bander
Published jointly by three North American banding organizations (Western Bird Banding Association, Inland Bird Banding Association and Eastern Bird Banding Association), NABB is our flagship publication and the premier source for American and Canadian bird banding related articles.
Recent issues of NABB can be found following these links:
Volume 49 Number 1 Jan-Mar 2024
Volume 48 Number 4 Oct-Dec 2023
Volume 48 Numbers 2 & 3 Apr-Sep 2023
Volume 48 Number 1 Jan-Mar 2023
Volume 47 Number 4 Oct-Dec 2022
Volume 47 Number 3 Jul-Sep 2022
Volume 47 Number 1 & 2 Jan-Jun 2022
Volume 46 Number 3 & 4 Jul-Dec 2021
Volume 46 Number 1 & 2 Jan-Jun 2021
Volume 45 Number 4 Oct-Dec 2020
All issues of NABB (1976-2020) are accessible and free through the Searchable Ornithological Research Archive (SORA).
Interested in submitting an article? Suggestions to Authors can be found on this page.
Back issues can be purchased for $10.00 plus $3.00 shipping either online by clicking here or by contacting EBBA Publications Chair, Elaine Mease at measede@enter.net or 2366 Springtown Hill Road, Hellertown, PA 18055.
Some issues of NABB provide links to color photos. The photos from Volume 38 No. 1 can be found here. The photos accompanying Volume 38 No. 4 can be found by clicking here. NABB Volume 40 No. 1‘s photos are in this link.
Attention Maps Banders
Message from Steve Gabrey:
I’d like to invite all of last year’s contributors and all other MAPS banders in the IBBA region to participate in the 2021 season review. You don’t have to be an IBBA member to contribute (although you are more than welcome to join us); the only requirement is that you ran a MAPS station in the IBBA region in 2021. Even if 2021 was your station’s first year, we’d still like to hear from you. Click on the Word document for more information and the Excel document for an example. Please contact Steve Gabrey directly if you have questions.
North American Bird Bander Additional Figures
NABB Volumes 43 (4), 44 (1)
NABB Volumes 43 (4), 44 (1)
Figure 1 from the article Molt Limits Reveal Extent of Molt and Age in Black-capped Vireos. During the breeding season, the molt limits of ASY, SY, and HY Black-capped Vireos differ. Labels used for individual feathers throughout this manuscript are shown in A. B-D show frequencies of replacement (%) of individual feathers for each age group. Feathers depicted in gray can be replaced whereas those shown in white are retained. The number in each replaced feather indicates the percent of the sample in which that feather was replaced.
NABB Volume 43 (4), 44 (1)
NABB Volume 43 (4), 44 (1)
Figure 2. Feather replacement in the Black-capped Vireo during the first molt cycle is more extensive than previously known. Molt limits in this wing (marked by arrows) show an eccentric molt pattern in which the inner 5 tertials and secondaries, outer 7 primaries, and outer 5 primary coverts were replaced. This SY female was captured at Fort Hood, Texas on 2 July, 2010. The bird was just starting prebasic molt as indicated by its missing innermost primary. Note that the innermost tertial is barely visible protruding from beneath the photographer’s thumb, the two outer primaries are only slightly visible, and the outermost primary covert is not visible because the wing was not fully spread.
NABB Vol 43 (4), Vol 44 (1)
NABB Vol 43 (4), Vol 44 (1)
Figure 3. An example of an unusual alular molt limit in an SY Black-capped Vireo in which only the middle of the three quills was retained. The two images show the left and right alulae of a female captured at Fort Hood, Texas on 26 June, 2017. This is the color version of Figure 3, left image, from the article Molt Limits Reveal Extent of Molt and Age in Black-capped Vireos.
NABB Vol 43 (4), Vol 44 (1)
NABB Vol 43 (4), Vol 44 (1)
Figure 3. An example of an unusual alular molt limit in an SY Black-capped Vireo in which only the middle of the three quills was retained. The two images show the left and right alulae of a female captured at Fort Hood, Texas on 26 June, 2017. This is the color version of Figure 3, right image, from the article Molt Limits Reveal Extent of Molt and Age in Black-capped Vireos.
NABB Vol 44 (2 & 3)
NABB Vol 44 (2 & 3)
Figure 2A. I used tracings (A) made from photographs (B) to test the usefulness of primary covert shape alone for determining the age of Black-capped Vireos. The use of tracings rather than photographs served to conceal other age characters that were visible in the photographs like molt limits and the width of feather edgings. An SY male captured 20 April 2011 is depicted.
NABB Vol 44 (2&3)
NABB Vol 44 (2&3)
Figure 3A. Primary covert shape is an unreliable indicator of age in the Black-capped Vireo. Many individuals have covert shapes opposite of the descriptions in Pyle (1997). For example, “A” shows a known fourth-year male with tapered, pointed coverts whereas “B” shows a known SY male (originally banded as a nestling) with relatively truncate coverts. These birds were recaptured and photographed on 17 May, 2010 and 12 May, 2009, respectively.
NABB Vol 44 (2&3)
NABB Vol 44 (2&3)
Figure 3B. Primary covert shape is an unreliable indicator of age in the Black-capped Vireo. Many individuals have covert shapes opposite of the descriptions in Pyle (1997). For example, “A” shows a known fourth-year male with tapered, pointed coverts whereas “B” shows a known SY male (originally banded as a nestling) with relatively truncate coverts. These birds were recaptured and photographed on 17 May, 2010 and 12 May, 2009, respectively.
Social Contact