Banding and Morphometrics

About the Banding and Morphometrics Extension and Bandit

Bandit is a software developed and maintained by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It is a program that is aimed at helping Federally approved bird banders manage and submit data about where and how a bird was banded. WRMD helps to facilitate the transfer of banding data to Bandit through its Banding and Morphometrics Extension. 

Activating the Banding and Morphometrics Extension

Note: Users with Admin or Super Admin status are able to access the Extension Features in Settings.

Step 1

Visit https://www.wrmd.org/signin and log into your account using the username and password that you registered with. 

Step 2

Access your account settings. Click on the arrow next to your name in the top right corner and choose settings from the drop-down menu.  

Step 3

On the left sidebar, click on All Extensions in the Extensions panel on the left side.

Step 4

Activate Banding and Morphometrics by clicking the Banding and Morphometrics Extension button. Once activated it will always be available until you deactivate it.

You will be able to access the Banding and Morphometrics function through any Patient Record under the tab labeled Banding and Morphometrics. 

Using the Banding and Morphometrics Function

Step 1

Visit https://www.wrmd.org/signin and log into your account using the username and password that you registered with. 

Step 2

Open the Patient Record of the animal that you are going to be Federally Banding. 

Step 3

Click on the Banding and Morphometrics tab. 

Step 4

Fill in all of the banding details by choosing the appropriate code from the drop-down menu. 

All of the drop-downs in the Banding field correlate to the fields within Bandit. The coding is the same as those used in Bandit. Regardless of whether you use the Bandit software, it is highly recommended that you complete all the fields. 

• Band Number: WRMD searches its entire database for the band number you type in to check if that band number has ever been used before. If it has been, WRMD will give you a notification allowing you to see the details of that past banding which you can then use to pre-populate some of the information requested by these fields.
• Age Code
• Sex Code
• How Sexed
• Status Code: you will typically choose code: (7) Rehabilitated and held.
• Additional Status code: you will typically choose code: (00) Federal numbered metal band only.
• Banding Date: The date you are banding the animal.
• Banding Size
• Master Bander Id: the identification number, recognizable by Bandit, that is given to you by the USGS.
• Banded by: the name of the person actually doing the banding.
• Location Id: this correlates to the identification of a location that you have stored in Bandit. Bandit will tell you what the location Id is. 
• Band Disposition
• Remarks

Step 5

Fill in the Auxiliary Marker Fields. These fields correspond to information in Bandit.

• Marker Code
• Marker Color
• Side of Bird
• Marker Type
• Marker Code Color
• Placement on Leg

Step 6

If the bird you are working with was not banned by you or if it was recaptured, you need to record the details of the band it is wearing. In this case, you would need to fill out the details of the Recapture section. Information in these fields corresponds to those requested in Bandit.

• Recapture Date
• Recapture Disposition
• Present Condition
• How Obtained Present Condition

Step 7

Fill in the millimeter morphometric measurement of the bird’s body parts and indicate any samples that were collected from the animal. You can also add general remarks and observations.

Step 8

Once you have filled in all the information, click the Update Morphometrics and Banding Details button.

Submitting Banding Details into Bandit

Step 1

When you are ready to submit your banding details into Bandit, go to Reports under Quick Links.

Step 2

Scroll down until you see a section called Banding and Morphometrics. There are three different reports that you can produce. Each must be submitted individually in Bandit. Click on the reports you want to download.

1. Bandit 4.0 Bands
2. Bandit 4.0 Auxillary Markers
3. Bandit 4.0 Recaptures

Step 3

Specify the date range for the bands that you want to export.

Step 4

A simple spreadsheet will appear which includes the data you have entered. To download a copy of this information for submission to Bandit, click on the blue Export Report button. 

Step 5

An Excel Spreadsheet will be downloaded onto your computer. It is formatted exactly the way it needs to be for the Bandit software.