Finally, while generally ignored in field studies, some species react behaviorally
to color-rings in unexpected ways, such as incorporating them into their mate-
selection criteria—the so-called “Burley effect” (Burley 1986, 1988).
The standard way to record color rings is top to bottom giving the bird’s left leg
first and then its right. A common abbreviations are R: Red, W: White, Y: Yellow,
O: Orange, G: dark Green, L: Lime (or light) green, B: dark Blue, P: Pale blue,
N: Black. The color ringed bird in the photo in Figure 4.2 is dark green over
orange on the left leg and red over red on the right. It is thus GO-RR. The tibio-
tarsal joint is usually shown by “//”.Thus if the orange had been below the joint
this would have been G//O-RR.
Where the species concerned moves over long distances and/or many ornitho-
logists may be color-ringing the same species in different places, it is advisable
Individual marking| 97Fig. 4.2Colour ringing is the most standard means of following individuals to study
their behavior, demography or migration. This Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa chick,
was ringed as part of a study determining the migration decisions of individuals and
their demographic consequences (Gill et al. 2001). It was ringed in July 2001 in eastern
Iceland and subsequently seen in September that year on South Uist, Scotland,
presumably having just arrived from Iceland, in November 2002 on the Dee estuary,
England and then in January 2003 in Wexford Slobs, SE Ireland. (Photo: Peter Potts)