It is definitely an old, import bird band. They are called open bands because they would be clamped on young or adult parrots' legs as identification and that they were legally imported at that time. It was probably on a parrot the size of a macaw or a cockatoo that was directly imported into Rhode Island into a quarantine station before being sold on the market. All importation of parrots ceased and became restricted except for breeding programs for parrots that are endangered in the wild in 1992. At one time I had a license and bred Greater Jardine Parrots from Africa as they were on the verge of becoming extinct in the wild. They were kept wild, parent fed only and could never be sold as pets and could only go to other licensed breeders into breeding programs and kept wild to increase their numbers with many being reintroduced back into their natural habitats.
You will rarely ever see that kind of a bird band on a parrot anymore unless it is an older adult and depending on the type they can live anywhere from 40 to 100 years so a few might still have them on for some time although many were taken off by unscrupulous pet stores in order to sell them as tamer, domestic bred parrots for more money. Parrot breeders use closed bands, solid thicker bands that are slipped onto a parrot's foot when it is a baby. Once they are grown, it would be impossible to put a closed band on one because their feet would be too big to fit a closed band over it. When parrots used to be imported, the closed bands were proof that parrots were domestically bred and tamer instead of having been caught in the wild. After the banning of imported parrots, the closed bands were proof that they were domestically raised and not smuggled in. Many people will still have the solid bands cut off of the parrots' leg by veterinarians for safety purposes so they don't get the band tangled up in a parrot toy and hurt themselves. I don't breed parrots anymore but towards the end of my parrot breeding, I would give the buyers the option of banding the parrots out of the nests, or just giving them the bands with my info on it. I have had the bands removed from all of my pet parrots that I raised and kept and a few that I took in as rescues that I didn't breed and handfeed. Parrots have been seriously injured and even have died from getting their leg bands caught in toys.
If you are really interested in finding out about the age of that band, you can trace its age by the serial number on the band. With the identification number being 'RI132773" I would guess that it is from 1973. Research the old, parrot quarantine import facilities for Rhode Island and you should be able to find the exact information there. Every state that imported parrots directly used their own state's methods of identification on the bands. Hope this helps.
It actually could have also been used for that too so you might also want to research Rhode Island's, Wild Game Reserves too. Although I have seen some like that used on imported parrots many times they are open, more rounded bands that are just clamped together around the leg. All the coastal states that imported parrots used their own types and identification methods. I have also seen that type used in Wild Game Reserves too.
