Ringing at Cruzinha
Ringing consists of identifying individual birds by placing a small ring around one of their legs.
The ring becomes a kind of “identity card” for the bird and it contains various types of information such as the name of the umbrella ringing organization in Portugal, its location and a string of letters and numbers. Some biometric measurements are taken, such as the wingspan, feather length, size of beak and weight. The type, condition, sex, age, amount of stored fat and muscle development details of the captured bird are also recorded.
Throughout this process, the bird ringer ensures that the bird is safe. It is then released and can continue to live in a normal way. This study allows us to study the migration routes, geographical distribution, longevity, mortality, fluctuation in population, morphology and behavior of birds.
A ROCHA started its bird ringing program in 1987 and, with the help of more than 300 bird ringers from all over the world, we have ringed more than 80,000 birds.