Migration routes often repeat the routes of bird dispersal. For example, Bunting overwinters in Southeast Asia and India. First, it flies north, then bends around the path to the west along the path of expanding its range in the last millennium. Although, it would seem, it is better to straighten your way and save a couple of thousand kilometers.

The same is done by some waders, for example the puffer waders that winter in South America. Or a snipe-shaped breech. First, they fly to North America, cross the Bering Strait, fly several thousand kilometers to Central Siberia, and start nesting there.

The ringing of birds shows not only where the birds are flying, but also the condition of the birds, as well as data on their population. If we ring enough birds, then the count goes to thousands.

"Higher still and higher
 From the earth thou springest
 Like a cloud of fire;
 The blue deep thou wingest, "

Our banding center has been operating since 1924. About 5 million birds have already been ringed in its entire history, and it is possible to understand by the returns of ringed birds what the mortality is, how emigration, immigration, all kinds of changes in the migration route, the influence of climate, humans, and so on.

In recent years, miniature transmitters have appeared that transmit a signal to a satellite, a cellular telephone network, and they have made it possible to find out some of the details of the migration. For example, small owls from Alaska make a direct flight 11 thousand kilometers long to New Zealand in 8-10 days without landing. This was found out using satellite transmitters.

Now there are many methods, but the traditional ringing of birds has not lost its significance, because many parameters, such as bird lifespan, mortality rates, reproductive success, cannot be found out in other ways.

About Conference

The science program will be organized by the Science Programs Committee (SPC) appointed by the IOU Investigator of the Department of Animal Ecology and Systematics at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany.

The IOC Congress will be integrated into various public events to demonstrate ornithology as a science accessible to the general public and closely linked to advances in monitoring and preserving our natural environment for the benefit of all.

The 28th IOC Congress in Durban in 2022 will be the last in a long series of IOC Congresses, the first of which was convened in Vienna (Austria, then the Austro-Hungarian Empire) in 1884. Since 1950, IOC Congresses have been held every four years in different locations. on all continents except Antarctica.

These are the only international congresses that address all the scientific aspects of one class of vertebrates, namely birds, and attract a global community of experts. IOC Congresses are renowned and appreciated as events where one can learn about the latest advances in avian biology through oral and poster presentations, and broader topics can be explored in carefully organized symposia, workshops, one-page presentations and round tables. Of particular interest are the plenary talks delivered by prominent leaders in bird biology from all over the world.

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