AIRA officers visited Yamashina Institute for Ornithology, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation (PIIF). (No.21-21)

Date and Time: 28th February, 2022(Mon.) 10:30～11：20
Attendants:
Yamashina Institute: Mr. Mibu, Chairman, Mr. Minezaki, Secretary General, Mr. Hiraoka, Director of Public Relations
AIRA: Mr. Ichikawa, President, Mr. Murakoshi, VP, Ms. Kitajima, VP, Mr. Nakamura, Director of Public Relations, Ms. Sakazume, Secretary

Mr. Ichikawa, President of AIRA, handed over the donation to Mr. Mibu, Chairmanof Yamashina Institute, to support its bird researching activities. After that the visitors from AIRA made a tour of the library, the specimen room and the DNA testing room in the institute with Mr. Hiraoka’s guidance and also watched how to attach a ring to a bird’ s leg (bird banding).
The institute possesses a collection of approx. 4,000 kinds of bird specimens out of 10,000 kinds of all the birds in the world, which is kept in the special drawers.
According to Yamashina, they have completed registration of DNA for 3,000 kinds (out of 10,000) of birds by DNA survey researching the individual fluctuation of birds.
As for the survey of migratory birds by “bird banding”, the longest-distance-migration case was a bird called “south polar skua” which had been banded in the Antarctic and was found in Hokkaido, proving that it had migrated 12,800 km.
No country border exists for birds. Such research on birds is conducted through global network as well as international cooperation. This will be based on the same idea with which AIRA is promoting international exchange.
AIRA began to donate to Yamashina Institute when AIRA joined in the Japan Bird Festival (JBF) in November, 2005. At that time, AIRA donated part of the sales of AIRA’s original “Kawasemi Manju”, red & white steamed buns branded with a picture of kingfisher. “Kingfisher” was the main research theme of Ms. Sayako Kuroda, the younger sister of Emperor Naruhito, now a private citizen, since she started to work at Yamashina Institute and these steamed buns were specially made to express people’s celebration for her wedding and the selling of the buns at JBF was repeated every year till 2009. Thereafter AIRA started to sell “Ahodori Manju”, steamed buns branded with a picture of an albatross, at “Abiko International Festival” and continued to donate part of the income to Yamashina.

However, due to COVID-19 in 2020, the festival was cancelled and no donation was made. This time, as per the proposal by an AIRA’s officer, the donation was unanimously agreed at the directors’ meeting.

(translated by NAKAJIMA Katsumi)