JOURNAL OF
AVIAN BIOLOGY
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Interested in publishing in JAB?
Please read this page carefully. Does your manuscript fit within our aims and scope? Are you familiar with the types of articles we publish? Have you seen our Open Access policies and waiver opportunities? Have you checked out our current calls for papers and our Review Award?
Please also read the Nordic Society Oikos Publishing Policies and NSO Journals Author Guidelines.
Aims and Scope
Journal of Avian Biology is an international, society-owned journal for scientists engaged in all aspects of avian biology. The primary goal of the journal is to publish high-quality papers relevant to the central theme of avian biology and to foster communication among researchers in many disciplines with a common interest in the biology of birds.
JAB is an outlet for bird-related research from all parts of the globe. It focuses on work that is of general interest: for example, because the findings advance a specific field, or because they are intrinsically of wide interest to the global community of scientists working with birds. Research published in JAB can be theoretical or empirical, and there is an emphasis on studies that test hypotheses in ecology, evolution and behaviour. The journal also welcomes studies that report negative results, provided they are based on sound scientific work and contribute meaningfully to understanding avian biology and guiding future research. The journal does not publish purely descriptive papers unless they contain important information that results in novel questions and/or opens up new areas for investigation.
Research areas include but are not limited to: ageing, behaviour, biogeography, communication, conservation, diseases, distribution, ecology, evolution, genetics, growth, immunology, migration, morphology, parasitology, physiology, population studies, speciation and reproduction.
Special Issues: Calls for Papers
Special issues are an important feature of Journal of Avian Biology. They can be used to highlight emerging areas of research within a field or provide a venue for a deeper investigation into existing research topics. See the latest calls for papers for our special issues!
JAB Review Award
The Journal of Avian Biology offers an annual award to an early-career research scientist who has an exceptional mini-review manuscript accepted for publication in JAB. Learn how to submit a review for the Review Award.
Types of Articles
The Journal of Avian Biology publishes the following types of articles:
Research Articles are normal full-length papers that make up the main part of each issue (no word limit). Articles focus on empirical and theoretical research in all areas of avian biology, with an emphasis on ecology, evolution and behaviour.
Short Communications are short contributions (max 5 printed pages; about 4500 words) that present biologically interesting findings within ornithology and notes on methodology and equipment.
Reviews provide a comprehensive and insightful overview of a particular field or aspect of avian research (no word limit). They should go beyond a summary of the literature and aim to combine different concepts or views into a coherent whole. They should discuss current research gaps and be forward-looking. Reviews can incorporate meta-analyses.
Mini-Reviews are shorter than standard reviews (about 6000 words) and can be used to highlight a sub-topic within a broader research area. They provide a succinct and clear summary of the research topic and give readers a quick overview of the most recent and significant advances. Mini-reviews can be submitted at any time, but the Journal of Avian Biology also has an annual call for mini-reviews as part of the JAB Review Award for early-career researchers.
Methods and Tools articles present novel or substantially improved methodological approaches (analytical tools, software, experimental designs, or field and laboratory techniques) that advance research in avian biology (no word limit). Contributions should go beyond incremental methodological refinements, demonstrating broad applicability and clear potential to shape future research across systems, questions, or disciplines in avian biology, and may include robust validation or impact studies of widely used methods or tools.
Viewpoint Articles are short papers (max 5 printed pages; about 4500 words) that are intended for discussion or comments on papers concerning recent issues. Authors are encouraged to be provocative and argue their own views on controversial issues. Viewpoint articles can also present new ideas and re-evaluate concepts and hypotheses.
Preparing your submission
See the NSO Author Guidelines for detailed instructions on preparing and formatting all of your materials.
Prepare your title file, main text file, and data and/or code files (or links to archived data and/or code) for upload through the ScholarOne submission system. Be ready to also provide statements on data availability, significance of the research, conflict of interest, ethics, funding, and acknowledgments. See the NSO Author Guidelines for full details.
Before submitting, check the PDF generated by the ScholarOne system to make sure that equations, text, and all files are complete and displayed correctly. If you are not proficient in English, you might consider having your manuscript checked by a proficient writer in English before you submit it. (Wiley also offers professional pre-submission editing services. Have a look here.)
After submitting, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a manuscript ID. Please refer to this ID in all correspondence with the Editorial Office.
Licensing & Open Access
All authors are required to grant the NSO a license to publish. All articles in the Journal of Avian Biology are published Open Access under the terms of a Creative Commons License, and are subject to an Article Publication Charge (APC) to cover the costs involved in the publication process, from administrating peer-review to copy editing and hosting the final article on dedicated servers. Current APCs for the Journal of Avian Biology can be found here. Some authors are eligible for discounts or full waivers of the APC, as explained below.
Please read the NSO Publishing Policies before submission to understand copyright and license policies and publishing fees. General information from Wiley regarding licensing and copyright is available here.
Continuous Publication
Under a Continuous Publication model used at Wiley, Journal of Avian Biology articles are published directly into an online issue with their final citations as soon as they are ready. There is no issue curation and no issue pagination; articles publish when they have completed production and are not held for upcoming issues. The ability to publish an article online before its issue is completed provides faster publishing of articles with final citation details for the academic community.
Waivers and Discounts
The Journal of Avian Biology’s mission is to be an outlet for bird-related research from all parts of the globe. An increasing proportion of our authors are covered by agreements with our publisher Wiley, allowing them to publish in our journal with no direct cost. In addition to this, authors from low- and lower middle-income countries can be covered through the partnership between Wiley and Research4Life, allowing them to publish for free or with a discount. However, we realize that there still is a segment of authors who are not covered by any agreements and who have no possibility to pay the Article Processing Charges (APC). To counter this, at least in part, we are offering society-funded waivers to authors from middle-income countries with limited funding. Learn more about our Waivers and Discounts.
Journal of Avian Biology is a journal of the Nordic Society Oikos, published in cooperation with Wiley. The journal is available at Wiley Online Library. Back issues are at JSTOR.
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