20 Miscellaneous Circular 18, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. 
A pair of small, pointed pliers, such as those opticians use (see 
fig. 22, (), is practically indispensable for this work, and a little 
practice with this tool will give such skill in using it that the band 
can be placed accurately and rapidly. Any round, pointed instru- 
ment will answer to open the band to get it around the bird’s leg; a 
metal pencil is satisfactory, but the best tool for this purpose is the 
stiletto, used to make eyelets in embroidery work. Figure 22, B, 
shows one of these tools set in a hardwood handle. They may be 
bought for 5 or 10 cents at stores handling embroidery supplies. 
Caution.—lf a bird, while in the hand, should take advantage of 
a momentary relaxation of the fingers and get loose, do not attempt 
to grasp it from the air, but rather allow it to escape quietly, and 
trust to recapturing it. The desire to seize an escaping bird is almost 
instinctive, and it requires thorough control to keep from it. But 
no matter how quick the lunge toward an escaping bird, it will gen- 
erally net nothing more than a handful of feathers, usually the tail, 
while the chances of 
breaking a wing or 
otherwise injuring 
the bird by grasping 
it are very great. 
No. 6 lock bands, 
and flat-strip adjust- 
able bands.—These 
two bands, being 
thicker and having 
special locking de- 
vices, require some- 
what more skill to 
putthemon. (Figs. 
awe. 21.—FPlat-strip band, adjustable: (a) Outer side, 20 and 21°) Pliers 
ipceedcaad! cee leveth aaiapad of Te re ta anagane absolutely neces- 
sary, the best type 
being those shown in Figure 22, A, with jaws 2 inches long and flat 
tips about one-eighth of an inch across. Loom fixers’ pliers @ oround 
down to this size are excellent. In addition, a pair of diagonal wire 
cutters, or a pair of stout-bladed scissors, will be necessary to trim 
off the excess length from the adjustable bands. 
In closing band No. 6 care should be taken to see that the locking 
nib is all the way through the slot before it is bent back. Figure 20 
shows one of these bands when out flat, and also when closed and 
properly locked. 
The adjustable bands, which are received flat, may be roughly 
shaped around a finger and then opened to admit the bird’s leg. "The 
band is then pressed together and its diameter reduced to where it 
fits smoothly. The second pair of nibs from the lock end are then 
bent over, and pinched tight with the pliers. The strip is now bent 
back, the bend pinched together as close as possible, and locked with 
the first pair of locking nibs. Excess length is then trimmed off and 
the end of the band is pressed down smoothly with the pliers. 
Caution.—See that the number is on the outside. Attaching these — 
bands requires care and patience. The metal is so stiff the bird’s 
leg may be broken if the operator is not careful. Put all pressure on 
the band, and not the leg, and there will be no trouble. 
