While some media are still portraying birds as the main vectors of the spread of avian flu, the United Nations Environment Programme with its associated Convention on Migratory Species and the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement are launching a campaign to remind the world that migrations are essential to natural processes for the effective functioning of our ecosystems. We must not make the mistake of blaming migratory birds for the creation and spread of deadly new viruses when human destruction of the natural world is the real culprit.