Understanding molt–the process by which birds replace their feathers–is critical for bird banders. Recognizing and interpreting patterns in ‘new’ versus ‘old’ feathers in a captured bird can reveal its age, greatly increasing the value of the information that the banding record provides for science and conservation.

In November 2020, Dani Kaschube–IBP's MAPS program coordinator–presented a webinar on molt for the Western Bird Banding Association. The webinar focuses on molt in passerine birds (songbirds), beginning with basics and theory of molt and moving on to specific cases studies for bird banders. If you have been intimidated by the study of molt in the past, Dani’s presentation is a great introduction to the subject-she starts at the beginning, and breaks down the topic into easy-to-follow steps.