I think at one point you mentioned IDing birds with a wing band, can you go into more detail on how those work? and the pros and cons vs leg bands
They're almost literally the same as ear tags on mice, same shape and basic mechanic. The wing band pierces the (pro)patagium of the bird and then bends back and loops through itself to close.
They generally carry a set or two sets of numbers, and many breeders will either start the sequence with the year (for example, using 251 for 2025, ID #1) or have the year for one number and the ID for the other (see above, 1990 and 2001 on one side, the ID number near the hole on the other side).
These are permanent, and usually linked with an entry in a logbook (hardcopy or digital), where breeders can record any relevant info- lineage, health concerns, age, sex, etc. Breeders tend to use them when they want to "fix it and forget it" as far as ID goes. Once the birds are adults the wing band is typically tiny in comparison to their body mass, and is generally covered by feathers unless you go hunting for it. The bird is unlikely to be able to get the tag off, and because it's covered in feathers, it's also unlikely to get caught on anything and rip out.
There are two main issues and the first is that the bird has to be large enough to use the tag. The tags are not small compared to a baby bird. Peachicks are pretty Big Babies, and the tag still looks huge on them.
If your bird doesn't get very large (for example, quail, pigeons, bantam chickens) you can get smaller bands but at the end of the day, the band is still gonna be large compared to them because there's just not a lot of them there. Most people that want permanent ID of smaller birds just use permanent leg bands instead.
The other issue with wing bands, and the reason I won't ever use them, is that it's not really like an ear piercing. Where most people get their ears pierced just doesn't have a lot of nerve endings, it's mostly skin and fat. Birds have a good deal of nerves in their patagium that are very sensitive, and used for sensing things for flight (like air pressure). Granted my birds are not flying south for the winter or anything, but I don't like the idea that they might be in continuing pain (or even just stress) by having something knocking around in that area. Maybe they aren't! But birds are VERY good at hiding pain, and I know that this area is sensitive, and there are other ways to ID birds than this that I know don't cause pain (like a leg band), so I choose those instead for my larger birds. To be clear, I don't think using them ever for any reason is wrong, it's just not a choice I would make for my own birds when leg bands are right there.
