A ringed partridge or pheasant recovered in Haute-Garonne only tells its story if the ring number is reported, and that takes a minute. The page is also meant for the ACCAs, France's approved communal hunting associations, and for the Haute-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 31): it shows what is published and what never is. On the administrative map, department 31 belongs to the Occitania region; its prefecture is Toulouse.
Ring tracking in Haute-Garonne
The Haute-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 31) does not use RingFollow at present. Reporting remains possible and useful: the recovery is recorded, then reviewed by a federation; GIBIS plays no part in the validation. The ring number leads back to the original release: if the federation of the department where it took place is registered, it validates; if not, the report waits, filed under department 31.
Found a ring: what to do
- Start with a sharp photo of the ring: the number is read automatically, and you check it.
- Say where the bird was taken: the municipality is used for validation and never appears in public.
- If the bird carries a wing tag rather than a leg ring, say so at the same step, together with the species.
- Send the report; name, phone and e-mail are optional, but an e-mail address gets you an acknowledgement.
The regional picture
The other departments of the region are Lot, Ariège, Lozère, Aveyron, Pyrénées-Orientales, Hérault, Hautes-Pyrénées, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Gard, Aude and Gers. None of the 13 departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the Federations page). The number of municipalities (586) is higher here than in any other department of the Occitania region.
What next?
The report is recorded as soon as it arrives, with the photo and the municipality given. The ring number is then matched against known releases; if one took place in a department whose federation is registered, that federation validates the recovery. Without a match, the report stays on file for Haute-Garonne, unpublished, until a federation can validate it. The public only sees totals per department; points on the national map are rounded to about 1 km.
Breeding and restocking
RingFollow tracks rings; breeding, species and restocking are covered on gibis.fr: game birds for restocking and red-legged and grey partridges.
What the rings say in Haute-Garonne
- The count of validated recoveries in Haute-Garonne still stands at zero.
- No report linked to the department is awaiting validation.
- For comparison, all of France: 3,592 ringed birds in 85 releases and 16 validated recoveries (5 participating federations); details on the Statistics page.
One ring, one data point
ACCAs and federations fund releases; rings are the only way to know what they yield in the field. Consolidated figures are public on the Statistics page, by department.
Key facts about Haute-Garonne
The European CORINE Land Cover inventory (2018) puts agricultural areas at 68% of the area and forests and semi-natural areas at 21%. The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (10%) and water bodies (1%). INSEE counts 586 municipalities and 1,471,468 inhabitants (2022 population count) over about 6,360 km². The share of artificial surfaces (10%) is higher here than in any of its six neighbours. Its arrondissements are administered from Toulouse (prefecture), Muret and Saint-Gaudens.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Across the borders
Its neighbours are Hautes-Pyrénées to the west, Tarn-et-Garonne to the north, Tarn to the north-east, Ariège to the south-east, Aude to the east and Gers to the north-west. All its neighbours belong, like the department itself, to the Occitania region. Among its neighbours, the share of agricultural areas ranges from 31% (Ariège) to 89% (Gers), against 68% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). The nearest department whose federation tracks its rings on RingFollow is Haute-Loire, about 285 km to the north-east as the crow flies between department centres.
Frequently asked questions
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
None of its direct neighbours. The nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 285 km away between department centres.
Where do I report a pheasant ring found in Haute-Garonne?
On bagues.gibis.fr, from a phone: a photo of the ring, the species and the municipality where the bird was taken are enough. No account is needed.
Who validates a recovery reported in Haute-Garonne?
A hunters' federation: the one for the department where the bird was originally released, if it is registered on RingFollow. The Haute-Garonne hunters' federation (FDC 31) does not use RingFollow at present, and GIBIS never validates.
How long is a report from Haute-Garonne kept?
Five hunting seasons, the duration of the restocking study. After that it is kept only in anonymised form, without contact details or licence number.
How do I recognise a Gibis ring found in Haute-Garonne?
A coloured, numbered leg ring, or a numbered coloured plastic wing tag, with no address. A ring engraved with an address belongs to another scheme: the guide explains where to report it.
A federation that would like to track its rings
The situation of every federation is on the Federations page. A federation that would like to track its recoveries can write to gibis@gibis.fr.
Few figures for Haute-Garonne so far? See what a well-filled department page looks like (example with simulated data).