Declining rates of ring recovery in British birds

A major focus of national ringing schemes is the large‐scale analysis of survival rates, primarily from recoveries of birds found dead. We demonstrate, based on analyses of birds ringed in Britain and Ireland between 1960 and 1998, a pronounced and consistent decline in the numbers of ringed birds found dead and reported across a wide range of species with diverse ecologies. The extent of these declines can, in some cases, be explained by factors pertinent to particular species, but most appear to stem from changes in reporting behaviour. Continued declines in recovery rate will reduce the precision with which we can estimate survival rates, but use of new web‐based technologies may help reverse this decline.

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