Huge gaps in Asia’s bird ringing are undermining conservation
Despite strong schemes in some countries, large blind spots leave migration and population declines poorly monitored
Bird ringing is one of the most powerful and cost-effective tools for understanding how birds move, survive and change over time. In Europe and North America, more than a century of coordinated ringing has underpinned modern ornithology. In Asia – despite its extraordinary bird diversity and globally important flyways – ringing has developed far more unevenly.
A major new review of bird ringing across Asia paints a detailed but sobering picture. While some countries now operate well-established national schemes, vast areas of the continent remain poorly covered, leaving major gaps in our understanding of migration, population change and conservation risk.
A continent of contrasts
Bird ringing in Asia began later than in the West and expanded unevenly. Countries such as Japan, China and Russia now operate structured national schemes, with trained ringers, central databases and long-running monitoring stations. Elsewhere, ringing remains sporadic, under-funded or entirely absent.
Japan has banded more than six million birds over the past century, while China has built a national programme that has marked over four million individuals since the early 1980s. These schemes have generated recoveries linking Asia to Europe, Africa and Australasia, revealing migration routes that were once entirely unknown.
In contrast, many countries in South and Southeast Asia still lack permanent ringing stations, formal training systems or consistent data management. In some regions, ringing depends entirely on short-term projects, visiting researchers or volunteers, making long-term monitoring almost impossible.
Why ringing still matters
Despite the rise of satellite tracking and biologging, ringing remains irreplaceable. Rings allow large numbers of birds to be marked cheaply and safely, generating long time-series data that tracking alone cannot provide.
Across Asia, ringing data have revealed dramatic population collapses, including the near-catastrophic decline of the Yellow-breasted Bunting. Long-term capture records have also helped document changes in migration timing linked to climate change, shifts in stopover use, and differences in migration strategies between species, ages and sexes.
Colour-marking has transformed shorebird research along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, with resightings by birders and photographers identifying key staging sites and previously unknown migration links. For some threatened species, such as Crested Ibis and Black-faced Spoonbill, ringing and resighting data have been central to successful recovery efforts.
Beyond migration – disease and policy
Ringing stations have also become vital for monitoring avian influenza. Regular capture and sampling of wild birds has helped track the movement of viruses across borders, linking migration ecology directly with public health and biosecurity.
At a policy level, ringing data have fed into national protected species lists, international flyway agreements and targeted conservation action. Where ringing data are strong, conservation decisions are better informed. Where they are weak or absent, birds effectively move unseen.
The main obstacles
The review identifies four recurring problems: weak legislation, limited funding, shortages of trained ringers, and incomplete networks. In many countries, bird ringing has no clear legal framework and relies on temporary permissions or external support.
Even where enthusiasm is high, a lack of equipment, transport and training limits what can be achieved. Some countries have seen declines in ringing effort as experienced ringers retire without being replaced. Elsewhere, data exist but are poorly shared or under-used.
What needs to change
The authors argue that Asia does not need to reinvent bird ringing – it needs to scale up what already works. Clear protocols, consistent training, permanent stations and better data sharing are all achievable with modest investment.
Crucially, the paper highlights the role of education and public engagement. Ringing stations can act as hubs for training, outreach and citizen involvement, helping to build support for conservation while improving data quality.
A narrowing window
Asia’s flyways face accelerating pressure from habitat loss, climate change and illegal hunting. Without coordinated monitoring, declines may only become obvious when recovery is no longer possible.
Bird ringing alone will not save Asia’s birds – but without it, conservation efforts risk flying blind. The tools exist, the expertise is growing, and the need has never been clearer.
January 2026
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