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INTRODUCTION

The British Ornithologists' Union was founded in 1858 by scientists of the day including Prof Alfred Newton FRS. The BOU is one of the world’s oldest and most respected ornithological organisations with an international membership stretching across all continents.

The BOU’s aim is to promote ornithology within the scientific and birdwatching communities by encouraging the study of birds in Britain, Europe and throughout the world in order to understand their biology and to aid their conservation. This is achieved in a number of ways, the most important of which is the publication of our quarterly international journal, Ibis. Established in 1859, Ibis is one of the world’s leading ornithological journals, featuring work at the cutting edge of our understanding of our worlds’ birdlife, be it behaviour, population dynamics, breeding biology, taxonomy, habitat use or conservation.

The BOU also organises regular meetings, seminars and conference at which birdwatchers and other ornithologists can learn more about the work being undertaken around the world. This includes projects which have received financial support from the BOU, such as the BirdLife International studies in Indonesia to which the BOU contributed nearly £50,000, although support normally takes the form of small research grants and other awards. The BOU also provides additional support, especially to young ornithologists, to assist their attendance of BOU sponsored conferences and meetings. The BOU further promotes ornithology by publishing checklists and books (such as The New Dictionary of Birds).

The BOU is administered by a Council elected by our membership. It has a set of rules that govern the activities of the society. The Annual General Meeting is usually held in April, at which time the year's activities are reviewed and reported to members.

Details of membership can be obtained from the Administrative Secretary at the Union Offices in Tring.

PUBLICATIONS

The BOU’s international journal Ibis has been published continuously since 1859. There are four issues a year and the papers published cover a variety of topics, including ecology, conservation, behaviour, palaeontology, taxonomy and new species.

Conference proceedings are occasionally published, either as supplements to Ibis or separately. Recent themes for such published proceedings include Applied Ornithology, Long-term Population Studies, Ecology and Conservation of Palearctic Migrants.

Recent Ornithological Literature is abstracted so that members may keep in touch with all the internationally published literature on birds. It is issued regularly and lists all current papers and publications. Following each citation is the postal address of the author. The coverage is global and papers are grouped under topics. The editors are based in Europe, North America and Australasia. It is an indispensable tool for professional ornithologists and for any birder with a need to keep abreast of current literature.

The BOU also publishes checklists of the birds of poorly-known regions in mainly third world countries. The checklists help local and visiting ornithologists alike by summarising much of the basic knowledge of the status and distribution of their birds. Many new titles are in preparation, while those like The Birds of Cyprus, The Gambia and Wallacea for example have proved very popular.

CONFERENCES

At least two conferences are organised on topical scientific issues involving birds each year and are often held in collaboration with other national or international ornithological and conservation organisations. These meetings provide a forum for the discussion of current issues and include poster sessions as well as the presentation of more formal papers. Birds, however, are always the theme, and participants always have a good time!

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BOU, PO Box 417, Peterborough PE7 3FX, UK
Tel 01 733 844 820
Email bou @ bou.org.uk (remove spaces)
Registered Charity number 249877
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