A ringed partridge or pheasant recovered in Hérault only tells its story if the ring number is reported, and that takes a minute. RingFollow never publishes the name of a hunter, an ACCA (approved communal hunting association) or a municipality, nor any count below 3. Part of the Occitania region, which has 13 departments, the department is administered from Montpellier.
Validating recoveries in Hérault
The Hérault hunters' federation (FDC 34) is not among the federations registered on RingFollow. Nothing changes for the hunter: the report is made the same way, and federations, not GIBIS, validate recoveries. 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 34.
Found a ring: what to do
- Open bagues.gibis.fr on your phone and photograph the ring close up, in good light.
- Choose the municipality where the bird was taken, from the 341 in Hérault: it locates the recovery but is never published.
- State the species, hare or red-legged partridge for example, and if you know them, the sex and circumstances of the recovery.
- Send the report; name, phone and e-mail are optional, but an e-mail address gets you an acknowledgement.
Land and population
The European CORINE Land Cover inventory (2018) puts forests and semi-natural areas at 49% of the area and agricultural areas at 39%. The rest is shared between artificial surfaces (8%), water bodies (3%) and wetlands (1%). With 1,230,289 inhabitants (INSEE, 2022 population count) on about 6,230 km², the density is roughly 197 inhabitants per km²; the department has 341 municipalities. The share of artificial surfaces (8%) is higher here than in any of its four neighbours. Its arrondissements are administered from Montpellier (prefecture), Béziers and Lodève.
Sources: INSEE (official geographic code 2025, 2022 population counts), OFB / EEA (CORINE Land Cover 2018), geo.api.gouv.fr (areas).
Breeding and restocking
The ringed birds tracked here come from the GIBIS game farm in Chatte (Isère). For the pheasant strain, see PUR CHASSE® pheasants; for restocking in general, restocking game birds.
One ring, one data point
Every recovery reported gives a date, a distance and a species. Added together, they give an operation's recovery rate and how far the birds disperse after release: enough to adjust future releases in Hérault.
The regional picture
The other departments of the region are Gers, Tarn, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Pyrénées-Orientales, Lot, Aveyron, Gard, Lozère, Tarn-et-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrénées and Aude. None of the 13 departments in the region has a federation tracking its rings on RingFollow at present (see the regional overview).
Across the borders
Four departments border it: Aude to the south-west, Gard to the north-east, Tarn to the west and Aveyron to the north-west. All its neighbours belong, like the department itself, to the Occitania region. Among its neighbours, the share of forests and semi-natural areas ranges from 30% (Tarn) to 51% (Gard), against 49% here (CORINE Land Cover 2018). None of these neighbours tracks its rings on RingFollow; the nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 175 km to the north (centre to centre). Next come Isère (about 255 km) and Ain (about 320 km).
What happens to the report
Once sent, the report is kept; if you left an e-mail address, an acknowledgement follows. Next comes the matching: does the ring belong to a recorded release? If so, and if that department's federation is registered, it reviews the recovery. Without a match, the report stays on file for Hérault, 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.
RingFollow figures for Hérault
- So far, RingFollow has no validated recovery taken in Hérault.
- 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.
Frequently asked questions
Does GIBIS validate reports from Hérault?
No, never. Recoveries are validated by the federation of the department where the bird was released, if it is registered on RingFollow.
What if the ring number is illegible?
Take several well-lit photos from different angles, then correct the suggested number if needed. The photos stay attached to the report for the validating federation.
Where do I report a pheasant ring found in Hérault?
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.
Which neighbouring departments track their rings on RingFollow?
None of its direct neighbours. The nearest registered federation is in Haute-Loire, about 175 km away between department centres.
Do I have to give my name to report a ring in Hérault?
No. Name, phone and e-mail are optional; an e-mail address only gets you an acknowledgement. Only the validating federation sees what you leave.
A federation that would like to track its rings
A registered federation validates the recoveries in its own department and can export its data. Full list: Federations; contact: gibis@gibis.fr.
Few figures for Hérault so far? See what a well-filled department page looks like (example with simulated data).