Color ring scheme Ruff

In our old ring scheme, all Ruffs were fitted with a metal ring, 4 color rings (2 per leg), and a colored flag (all color rings and flags without inscriptions). The colors used were: yellow, blue, red, and white. The metal ring is not part of the code, so its position is not important. The color rings were always applied to the tarsus (below the “knee”), but the flag could also be placed on the tibia (above the “knee”). The position of the flag could vary: above, between, or below the color rings.

In the new ring scheme, the birds are fitted with 3 rings on the tarsus (red, yellow, green, blue, and white) and a yellow flag with an X, which can be placed on either leg, above or below a ring. The other leg is fitted with the remaining 2 rings.

Here you can see more examples of Ruffs with our ring scheme.
Ruffs are also ringed in other countries and may have different combinations of rings, with or without a flag. Here you can find some examples of these as well.

We hope, of course, that many people will take the time to report sightings of color-ringed birds to us. Email is the fastest and easiest way for us to receive observations and inform observers about the birds they’ve seen. In addition to the exact position of the flag and rings, we also ask for information on where (preferably with coordinates) and when the bird was observed. A photo and additional details about flock size, behavior, habitat, and the number of birds checked for rings are particularly welcome!

Contact for color ring observations
Jos Hooijmeijer