Published to aid students in comprehending the philosophy of the Department of Outdoor Teacher Education at Northern Illinois' Taft Field Campus, this paper on bird banding encompasses: (1) a brief history of bird banding; (2) the rationale behind bird banding; (3) a description of the bird banding station at the Lorado Taft Field Campus and its history from 1956 to 1973, including a summary of the number and species of birds banded: (4) the types of traps used; (5) Taft's record keeping procedures, including exemplary forms; (6) an analysis of the Taft Station banding records; (7) statistics relative to the Taft birds found elsewhere; (8) the mortality rate of the birds banded at Taft; (9) statistics on bird migration patterns; (10) prevention of the harmful use of bird bands; (11) the population dynamics of Taft birds; (12) the yearly percentum of returns of the birds banded at Taft; (13) the longevity of birds; (14) the educational implications of banding activities; (15) suggestions for improvement of bird banding at Taft (e.g., promote annual workshops on bird banding; require a short course on bird banding for all graduate assistants at Taft; develop a color banding procedure; improve/standardize the weather station; prepare publications re: banding outcomes; promote sustained research; etc.); (16) a bird banding bibliography (7 periodicals, 2 catalogues, and 17 annotated book, article, and pamphlet citations). (JC)