The Ringing Center is the only organization in Russia that collects, stores, and systematizes materials on bird ringing and marking, maintains ongoing contact with foreign ringing centers, and is a member of the European Union for Bird Ringing (EURING). The Ringing Center takes part in preparing and holding international congresses, conferences, and meetings. Joint monitoring of seabird colonies is carried out under the Russian-American environmental protection agreement.
Since 1993, the Center has processed data on recoveries of ringed and marked birds using a specially developed information system and has been transferring all available materials to a computerized Ring Recovery Bank, which is actively used by Russian and foreign specialists.
The Center carries out scientific-organizational work and research on bird migration based on ringing and marking methods. Ringing Center staff study bird migration and population structure, bird behavior, problems of coloniality, adaptation to environmental conditions, and issues of bird conservation.
The Ringing Center coordinates the use of rings and individual markers in Russia, including satellite and radio transmitters, and develops modern methods for processing and storing archival materials, instructions, and other methodological materials.
The Ringing Center organizes the manufacture of rings and markers of a single standard for Russia, inscribed "Moskva," and supplies these rings, markers, instructions, and forms to all interested organizations and individuals who use ringing and marking methods and work under a program agreed with the Ringing Center.
In 2006, the Bird Ringing Center coordinated work at the Institute and the Department of Biological Sciences of the RAS to prevent the spread of avian influenza in Russia. A database was created on the deaths of wild and domestic birds from avian influenza in Russia and worldwide during 2003-2006. It was shown that the leading role in the long-distance transmission of influenza A virus is played by disease transmission by wild migratory birds. Newly emerging highly pathogenic forms of the virus are carried during migration from one flyway to another and, upon reaching non-immune individuals, including synanthropic birds, cause new outbreaks accompanied by mass mortality of wild birds as well as transmission of the disease to domestic birds and humans.
Ringing Center staff have clarified a number of questions concerning the population structure and migrations of northern waterfowl, as well as numerous colonial birds from the gull and auk families. The mechanisms of waterfowl adaptation to Arctic conditions have been elucidated. The mechanisms of formation and functioning of goose colonies near protector birds of prey have been identified. New mathematical methods have been developed for assessing bird distribution on a plane and along a line. In recent years, the Ringing Center's scientific interests have come to include bird ectoparasites and the biocenoses of bird nests, and archaeozoological work is being conducted in collaboration with the Institute of Archaeology RAS.
In recent years, Center staff have conducted monitoring studies in the Russian Arctic, including counts of waterfowl, ungulates, and polar bears using ultralight aircraft. This work is carried out in close cooperation with the Goose, Swan and Duck Study Group (RGG).
The latest satellite and GPS/GSM tracking methods are applied to study the migration routes and population structure of geese, swans, and brant, including species listed in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation.