Each bird that is brought into holding is “processed” – this means we do a quick health assessment of the bird as well as band it and weigh it. We take the time when we first arrive back at the bird room to give each bird a quick physical exam (by the vet that accompanies us on this trip). The vet looks at the overall condition of the bird, how much body fat that it has and takes many measurements including: tail length, wing cord length, tarsus length, and bill length.
Measuring the length of the beak
Taking leg length measurements
Tail length measurement
And finally, a wing length measurement
The vet also takes a small blood sample (by clipping the bird’s toenail) to check for any problems or disease issues and to provide a small blood sample for DNA determination of the bird’s sex.
This information combined with the incoming weight of the birds gives us a quick snap shot into the overall health of the birds. After the health check is complete, we assign a leg band number to the bird and place it in its new holding cage with a label indicating the bird’s band number.
Home sweet home, for only a few weeks!
But wait! There’s more! Read the rest of the series HERE!
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