The BOU’s aim is to promote ornithology and a better understanding of ornithology, birds and related issues, within the scientific and birdwatching communities. To help achieve this aim, the BOU organises regular meetings, seminars and conferences at which ornithologists and others can discuss and learn more about work being undertaken around the world and topical ornithological issues. The BOU has been organising conferences and meetings for over 100 years, and they provide an opportunity for people, from widely differing professional backgrounds, to explore and relate to a discrete scientific theme of common interest. Recent topics have included Lowland Farmland Birds (in 1999 with follow up conference being held in March 2004), Long-term Studies of Birds, Renewable energy and birds, and Birds & Public Health. Such meetings help to promote understanding of environmental issues and the sharing of knowledge. The presentation of contentious academic theories to critical public debate and the defence of such ideas lie at the heart of healthy science.
The BOU further achieves its aim by the quarterly publication of our international journal - Ibis. Established in 1859, Ibis - the world’s leading ornithological journal and publishes work at the cutting edge of our understanding of the world’s birdlife, be it behaviour, population dynamics, systematics, breeding biology, taxonomy, habitat use or conservation. Ibis is available in print and online – visit the Ibis website.
