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The Ornithological Council: who we are and how we can help you

Written by Laura Bies

You may know that PSG is a member of the Ornithological Council—but, do you know what the OC actually does and how it can help you in your career?

Formed in 1992, the Ornithological Council is a consortium of scientific societies of ornithologists. PSG is a founding member of the OC. Our current member societies are:

  • Association of Field Ornithologists
  • Birds Caribbean
  • CIPAMEX: Sociedad para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves en México
  • Neotropical Ornithological Society
  • North American Crane Working Group
  • Pacific Seabird Group
  • Raptor Research Foundation
  • Waterbird Society
  • Wilson Ornithological Society

The OC is governed by a board of directors made up of representatives from each of our member societies. The OC member societies contribute annually to the OC, which supports a part-time salary for the OC executive director. We also have Supporting Members, organizations that contribute a smaller amount each year to support our mission. 

Our Mission

The OC works to (1) ensure that the best ornithological science is incorporated into legislative, regulatory, and management decisions that affect birds; (2) enhance the ability of ornithologists to pursue professional activities; and (3) promote the influence of ornithology in public affairs.  

We do this by monitoring the legislative, regulatory, and management decisions that affect bird management and conservation, and offering science-based feedback to agencies and regulators, as appropriate. We work to ensure that the regulations, policies, and practices involving bird banding are effective and efficient, and that programs such as the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory have the resources they need. We provide extensive free resources to the ornithological community online, and answer individual questions as well. We also manage the Ornithology Exchange, an online community for ornithologists and others, with timely information regarding ornithology and conservation, as well as a free job board. 

How can we help YOU?

We offer individual assistance to all members of OC societies on issues regarding animal welfare (usually involving securing IACUC approval for research) or securing the permits needed for ornithological research. Whether you’re in the planning stages of a research project and aren’t sure where to begin or you’ve been successfully securing permits for years but are suddenly facing unexpected delays and denials of permits, we can help! In fact, it’s also helpful to the OC when you reach out if there are unexpected bumps in the permitting processes—that allows us to identify areas we can work on with the various federal agencies to improve their policies and regulations. 

If you need information about permits for banding, import/export, scientific collection, or other activities, check out our website BIRDNET.ORG for extensive information on permitting in the U.S. and Canada. For example, we recently released an updated guide to the import permit process, which offers detailed information and advice on securing the permits needed to import specimens or bird parts into the U.S. A Guide to the Permits and Procedures for Importing Bird Products into the United State for Scientific Research and Display is available for download on our website. 

Also on BIRDNET.ORG is the Guidelines for the Use of Wild Birds in Research, a foundational publication, now in its fourth edition, which provides an in-depth guide to the animal welfare considerations involved when performing research involving wild birds, including ethical considerations and the legal framework that must be followed by researchers. 

If ornithologists have questions that are not answered by these publications, OC staff is always available to help with individual inquiries by phone or email. Each year we help dozens of ornithologists secure IACUC approval for their research or the permits they need to conduct their research or import specimens. 

The Voice of the Ornithological Community

The OC is also always working behind the scenes, meeting regularly with federal agency staff and others to continually improve the policies and regulations that govern your work. We regularly file official comments with federal agencies, reach out to the Administration and Congress as needed on key issues, and otherwise serve as your voice in the policy and regulatory process. 

You can learn more about the actions that the OC is taking to support ornithologists on the Ornithology Exchange, in the “News from the Ornithological Council” forum. There you’ll also find timely articles about policy issues that affect ornithologists. 

Please feel free to reach out to OC Executive Director Laura Bies at laurabiesoc@gmail.com if we can be of assistance!