close-banded - a type of leg banding for bird identification that consists of slipping a closed ring over the toes and onto the leg of a baby bird so that, as the bird matures, it is nearly impossible to remove. Close bands generally contain enough information to assure the buyer that the bird is captive bred, and often indicate what year it was born. The band is usually put on finches at around 8 to 10 days of age. Close bands for finches are available from the National Finch and Soft bill Society. To learn how to close band click here.