RT12: Bird remains identification system on CD-ROM: Further developments

¹Expert Center for Taxonomic Identification, Mauritskade 61, 1092 AD Amsterdam, The Netherlands, e-mail wprast@eti.uva.nl; ²Zoological Museum Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; ³Tel Aviv University, Israel; ⁴Israel Ornithological Center, SPNI 155 Herzel St., Tel Aviv, Israel, e-mail shamoun@post.tau.ac.il

Downy barbules of contour feathers contain diagnostic characteristics that can be used to identify birds (Chandler, A.C. 1916. University of California Publications in Zoology 13: 243-446; Brom, T.G. 1986. Bijdragen tot de dierkunde 56 (2): 181-204). The Bird Remains Identification System (BRIS) is an interactive multimedia program for identifying feather remains on CD-ROM (Prast, W. & Shamoun, J. 1997. BRIS Bird Remains Identification System. CD-ROM, published by ETI, Amsterdam). The computer based system serves two main purposes: (1) providing a visual and descriptive database of feather microstructures, (2) providing an identification system. BRIS includes more than 1400 micrographs of 200 Palearctic species, descriptions of feather characters, general information on each species, GIS-based distribution maps and more. Three microscopic techniques were used and compared to create a character/state matrix, which forms the basis of the BRIS-identification tool. This tool can be used to identify birds to the order, family and occasionally, genus level. Combining microscopic and macroscopic comparison of feathers can often lead to species identification.

The main use for BRIS is the identification of bird remains following collisions between birds and aircraft. Bird strikes cause damage, costing millions of dollars annually to aviation worldwide. The reliable identification of bird remains is an essential part of understanding the scope of bird hazards and improving flight safety.

Future developments of BRIS include: a feather identification system based on macroscopic characters (currently worked on in The Netherlands), an expert system based on DNA sequences, a GIS based bird mobility/bird avoidance system.

During the RTD several short presentations reviewed projects in the field of bird remains identification. The second author described the combination of light microscope examination of downy barbules and bird skin comparisons used for Israeli Air Force feather remains identification. Jan Dyck (University of Copenhagen) provided information on the variation in shape of barbs and barbules in transverse sections. Michel Louette described a study done by K. Perremans and A. De Bont at the University of Leuven, Belgium, on the surface structure of rachis, barbs and barbules under the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The first author presented the recent developments and future plans of BRIS expansion as well as a computer demonstration of the software. Though BRIS was developed with bird strike identification as the primary use, it is an excellent tool for studying pellets and predator-prey relationships and can also be used as an educational tool. Other fields of interest mentioned were technical aspects of flight, evolution of feathers and taxonomic studies. There was a general consensus that international contacts and co-operation in this field should be improved and expanded and BRIS can serve as a platform for such co-operative developments.