Drop 01 — accessioned late July5% of net sales to the Cornell Lab of OrnithologyFree US shipping over $95Designed, not generatedDrop 01 — accessioned late July5% of net sales to the Cornell Lab of OrnithologyFree US shipping over $95Designed, not generated
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE · FIELD ISSUEFIELD 01 · LF-FIELD-001
A federal-style bird band is how a wild bird becomes a record —
slipped onto the leg, uniquely numbered, it lets one individual be re-found across years and continents.
That is the backbone of migration and longevity science. The cap carries the band ring as a quiet field mark.
This is the account behind it.
CLASS FIELD ISSUE · EMBROIDERED RING · USGS-STYLE · BAND NO. LF-FIELD-001
FIELD 01 · the field-station cap · on the Stone colorway
THE LOCAL PATCH · LARKFEN FIELD GOODS
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE · LF-FIELD-001FIELD 01a · THE ISSUE
§ The field issue, in two colorways
The glyph, embroidered small
An unstructured 6-panel cap with an adjustable strap, embroidered with the band-ring glyph at the front. Hover (or drag) to read the stitch under the loupe; tap the inset to flip Stone ↔ Khaki.
Hover / drag either image to zoom · tap the inset to flip colorway
It pairs with any plate tee: the tee carries the species record, the cap carries the
device that makes a record possible. A quiet credential, not a logo — embroidered the way a real
station marks its kit.
FIELD ISSUE · A LARKFEN COLLECTION · THE LOCAL PATCH
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE — The band & the programFIELD 01b · THE RECORD
§ The band, the program, the record · six-block lattice
What the glyph actually stands for
The band is a real instrument with a real protocol behind it. Everything below is drawn from the USGS Bird Banding Lab and the North American Bird Banding Program — and redlined before it ships.
6 blocks · A–F Verified 2026-06-14
AThe band
The instrument
Material
aluminium alloy
Mark
unique engraved number
Issued by
USGS Bird Banding Lab
Sizes
matched to leg ø
Worn on
the tarsus (lower leg)
Size codes vary by species — flagged, not invented.
BThe program
Who keeps it
Run by
USGS · Can. Wildlife Svc.
Banding records
electronic from 1960
Encounters
back to 1913
Data
via the Bander Portal
Permit
required to band
CWhat a bander records
One bird, in hand
Species
+ AOU alpha code
Age & sex
by plumage & skull
Mass
to 0.1 g
Wing chord
flattened, in mm
Fat & molt
scored visually
Where & when
station & coordinates
DThe garment
The field cap
Form
unstructured 6-panel
Front
embroidered band-ring glyph
Closure
adjustable strap
Colorways
Khaki · Stone
Use
field issue · all seasons
EObservation & provenance
The record behind it
Sources
USGS BBL · NABBP
Tags
National Band & Tag
Verified
2026-06-14
Redline
☑ accepted
Found a banded bird? Report it: reportband.gov — finders are collaborators.
FWhat the band proved
Oldest on record
Great Blue Heron
24 yr 6 mo
Common Raven
22–23 yr
Northern Cardinal
15 yr 9 mo
Source
USGS BBL longevity
Known only via
a re-read band
Each record is one wild bird, banded then re-encountered years later — a number no other method can produce.
THE BAND IS THE RECORD · THE NUMBER TRAVELS WITH IT
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE — BandingFIELD 01c · DATA
FIELD 01 · embroidered band ring · on the Khaki colorway
Field Nº · LF-FIELD-001A measurement protocol
A band is a session of data.
USGS Bird Banding Program
A banding session is a measurement protocol. The bars show, schematically, the relative attention a bander gives to each record class on a single bird in the hand. (Indicative of practice, not a counted budget.)
Record class · share of effort
Band & number
Species · age · sex
Mass
Wing chord
Fat & molt
Schematic · the band itself is the permanent record; the measurements travel with its number into the BBL database.
Why the glyph
The most honest emblem in birding.
The band ring is a number that says one thing: this individual, seen again. No flourish. We embroider it small, the way a real station marks its kit — a quiet credential, not a logo.
A century of records
Finders are collaborators.
Encounter records reach back to 1913; individual banding data has been kept electronically since 1960. Every band reported by a member of the public adds a data point — which is why the program treats finders as collaborators.
REPORT A BAND · REPORTBAND.GOV · FINDERS ARE COLLABORATORS
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE — The banding yearFIELD 01d · SEASON
§ The banding year — effort tracks the birds
Hardest in migration
Banding effort tracks the birds. Most North American stations run hardest during spring and fall migration, with a breeding-season pulse and lighter winter coverage. (Months indicative of general practice.)
12-month grid J → D
Effort · J F M A M J J A S O N D
Phase
JFMAMJJASOND
Springmigration
Breedingpulse
Fallmigration
Peak banding effortBreeding-season pulse
The re-encounter
When a band is refound
Reported when
the bird is refound
Yields
migration routes
Yields
longevity records
Public role
reportband.gov
One band, refound years and continents later, is a data point no other method can produce.
§ The data behind the band — what re-encounter reveals
A band makes a trend knowable
A trend is only a trend because individuals were banded, surveyed and re-encountered. The Common Raven is the textbook case: near-extirpated in the eastern and midwestern U.S. before ~1900, now recolonizing and rising. This is the kind of record the glyph stands for.
1 card USGS BBS · LC
Status & TrendLF-FIELD-001 · CORA
LCLeast Concern
LC · NT · VU · EN · CR
Common Raven — N. America Corvus coraxIncreasing
+1.4%per year
196619932019
DeclineIncrease
Source · USGS BBS 1966–2019 · IUCN56–69 cm · Wingspan 116–150 cm · resident, recolonizing E/Midwest
A trend like this is built one band, one survey route, one re-encounter at a time — which is why the program treats every finder as a collaborator.
EFFORT TRACKS THE BIRDS · COMPILED & VERIFIED 2026-06-14
LARKFEN FIELD GUIDE — ConservationFIELD 01e · 5% TO CORNELL LAB
5%
The patch is worth keeping.
5% of net sales goes to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology — the people behind eBird and Merlin, the citizen-science record these field goods are built on. The band program and eBird share one idea: the public, keeping the record. The same half-mile, kept worth walking.
