Journal of Asian Ornithology
Instructions to authors
Journal scope
The Journal of Asian Ornithology (formerly Forktail) is the flagship scholarly publication of the Oriental Bird Club (OBC). It publishes original papers in the English language concerning all aspects of ornithology (e.g. behavioural biology, life history, distribution, taxonomy, nomenclature, ecology and conservation) in the Oriental and Eastern Palaearctic regions. Geographical coverage extends to Lydekker’s Line in the east (including the Moluccas, Kai and Tanimbar) and to Pakistan in the west. In the Indian Ocean, the western and southern limits are the Maldives and Christmas Island. In the Pacific Ocean, the Commanders, Japan and all its associated island possessions and the Philippines are included. In Russia, the western boundary of the region is roughly between 80° and 90°E.
The Journal of Asian Ornithology invites the submission of research articles containing original data and novel insights. Reviews and short communications may also be considered, but authors should consult with editors about their suitability prior to submission. Examples of eligible submissions include the distribution and ecology of birds, taxonomic discoveries, descriptions and revisions, and novel aspects of avian behaviour (e.g. nesting biology, foraging, migration, mixed flocking and nest parasitism). We also welcome papers with a strong conservation focus, for example new insights into the conservation status of threatened species, the illegal bird trade, habitat restoration and management, extinctions and habitat fragmentation effects. Comprehensive avifaunal inventories of particular regions or islands are welcome contributions. On the other hand, single species records new to a country or region are considered only in exceptional circumstances.
The Journal of Asian Ornithology places emphasis on (1) the novelty of research results and (2) region-wide significance. Contributions in which the novelty of results is not immediately clear, or in which authors have not established how their results further our insights into a topic in comparison with previous results, are not usually considered for review. Equally, novel ornithological results that are only locally or nationally, but not regionally, significant, are not generally considered for review. We encourage authors to familiarise themselves with the scope of our sister journal BirdingASIA, which will under some circumstances be a more appropriate choice for interesting and appealing studies that are locally or nationally significant. The editorial boards of the Journal of Asian Ornithology and BirdingASIA may discuss the suitability of some manuscript submissions, which may result in an editorial recommendation for manuscript transfers.
Article types
Original research articles
Most articles published in the Journal of Asian Ornithology are original research articles. Such papers report on the results of original empirical research. The material must not have been previously published elsewhere. Research articles are typically up to 8,000 words but may extend to 10,000 words for more complex studies.
Review articles
Review articles are usually invited. Unsolicited submissions are considered in exceptional circumstances, but their submission should be coordinated with the editorial board through email. Review articles summarise and synthesise the status of research in a specific field of interest in Asian ornithology and bird conservation. Review articles should not exceed 12,000 words.
Submission procedure
Manuscripts should be submitted as a single Word file attached to an email to JAO@orientalbirdclub.org.
The file should include a brief Cover Letter followed by the manuscript. The Cover Letter should outline the main findings, the novelty and the significance of the manuscript. It should also confirm that the manuscript has not been published elsewhere. Authors can use the Cover Letter to suggest up to two potential reviewers (with full contact details). Potential reviewers should not include anyone with whom the authors have collaborated in the research being submitted. Authors should limit the size of the attached file to a maximum of 20 MB; note that files larger than 20 MB may not reach the editors. For this purpose, authors are advised to reduce the size of any graphical material (e.g. figures and photographs). In multi-authored manuscripts, one or two persons must be designated as corresponding authors. We ask that the journal be contacted only by the corresponding author(s).
Language suitability
The Journal of Asian Ornithology strongly encourages contributions from local ornithologists who are resident or native in the regions we cover. At the same time, the journal’s geographic scope encompasses a region in which only a small minority of researchers speak English as a mother tongue. It is the journal’s explicit policy that authors should not be disadvantaged on the basis of language proficiency. Manuscripts are judged on the basis of content, not language, as much as is practicable, although we do have to make sure that the journal only contains articles written in good English to facilitate comprehensibility and scientific communication. We therefore urge authors from other language backgrounds to make sure that their manuscripts are vetted by colleagues with an English language background, or have been vetted by professional language services. For those authors who cannot ensure a high language standard, the editorial board may assist by connecting the authors with language editors, but please be aware that this may lengthen the submission process. Authors are therefore advised to ensure as far as possible a high language standard on their own.
Editorial process
Upon submission, authors will receive an acknowledgement of receipt from the editorial board within two weeks. Authors who do not receive such an acknowledgement may seek confirmation of receipt from the editors after having verified that their initial submission email complied with the journal’s attachment size limitations. Publishing space in the Journal of Asian Ornithology is highly limited. Therefore, all manuscripts will undergo initial triage by the editorial board to assess their suitability. If a manuscript does not pass this initial triage, authors will be notified of the outcome. On occasion, the editorial board will suggest transferring the manuscript to our sister journal BirdingASIA and, if the authors agree, will facilitate a swift transfer. On other occasions, authors may be informed that their manuscripts have sufficiently novel or significant ornithological content, but that presentation and language must be improved considerably, giving authors the chance to re-work their manuscripts for a second submission or to seek help with outside language editors.
Manuscripts that do pass the initial triage will be sent to one of our subject editors for peer review. Subject editors will generally commission a minimum of two independent reviews from experts in the field. Peer review typically takes 2−4 months but can occasionally take longer. After peer review, the subject editor will make a recommendation and the editorial board, consisting of associate editors and editor-in-chief, will communicate their final decision to the authors. If further review rounds are necessary, the subject editor may consult peer reviewers again. Resubmission following a previous round of review must always be accompanied by a detailed Response Letter from the corresponding author, in which the authors outline the changes they have undertaken in response to each of the substantive reviewer comments. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all co-authors are in agreement with the contents of the manuscript and the proposed changes. Following acceptance, corresponding authors will receive proofs for checking, which they are required to return within one week of receipt. PDFs of the published papers are sent to the corresponding author(s) after publication.
Article structure
Research articles must comply with the following structure:
Title
Manuscript titles should be concise but informative, allowing the reader to easily identify the topic or main findings. Titles should not exceed a word count of 20.
Abstract
The Abstract serves to give an overview of the study and outline its main novelty and significance. The Abstract should not contain too much methodological, geographic or other detail, which is to be reserved for the main text. Abstracts may not contain any jargon or acronyms, and should provide exact quantitative details only in exceptional circumstances. The Abstract should not exceed 200 words.
Main text
The main text consists of the following sections. It should be concise and factual, and take full account of previous relevant literature but avoid repetition of established information as much as possible; opinions expressed should be based on adequate evidence.
Introduction
The Introduction provides a concise framework for the study. Drawing from the relevant published literature, the Introduction outlines the existing state of knowledge and gaps that remain to be filled. The Introduction also clearly states the objectives of the study.
Material and methods
This section provides adequate details on the methodology to ensure that the work is reproducible by other researchers. It should outline relevant details of the study site(s), including maps where necessary, field sampling methods (e.g. transects, mark-recapture, tracking), laboratory methods (e.g. for studies involving genetic analyses) and details of the analytical methods used.
Results
Results should be clear and concise, and supported by appropriate tables and figures. The Results text should strictly keep to the presentation of results without engaging in their discussion. Preferably, the main results text should make qualitative statements about the results and refer to figures and tables for exact quantitative information.
Discussion
The Discussion should explore the significance of the results and put them into the context of existing knowledge. In exceptional cases, a combined Results and Discussion section is acceptable.
Acknowledgements
Authors are encouraged to offer their work to colleagues for critical assessment prior to submission. Such help as is received should be mentioned in the Acknowledgements section, where other contributions to the study should equally be recognised.
Manuscript format
File organisation
A manuscript should be submitted as a single Word document: manuscript text, tables, figures, references and appendices should all be combined into this single file (downsized to ≤20 MB but legible). Graphic material and tables should preferably be placed at the text location intended in the final publication. High resolution versions of figures will be sought from the authors after a manuscript is accepted.
Tables, figures and appendices
Authors are responsible for ensuring that permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources, including photographs and maps. Quantitative data should preferably be conveyed through tables. All graphical material is conveyed through figures (e.g. plots, maps, photos). Figure content should be clearly legible even at smaller magnification. Figure preparation at an insufficient standard can incur considerable delays during the production stage, even after a manuscript has been accepted for publication. Figure adequacy is the responsibility of the authors. Figures and tables must be numbered consecutively; the order in which they are first mentioned in the text must follow their chronological numbering.
Long tables and databases are usually rendered as appendices at the end of each published manuscript. Authors must consult with editors if such supplementary material does not lend itself to print format and can only be rendered online.
Writing style
Authors should consult a recent issue of the Journal of Asian Ornithology for detailed style, formatting and layout information. Some general information follows:
British English spelling should be used.
Use Times New Roman font, 12 point, unjustified with single-line spacing.
On first mention of a species, both English and scientific names should be given, thereafter only one, usually the English. Scientific trinominals should be used only if subspecific nomenclature is relevant to the topic under discussion. Species names are always capitalised, scientific names are in italics and not in parentheses, e.g. Brown Shrike Lanius cristatus.
Metric units and their international symbols should be used.
Numbers one to nine are written in full except when linked with a measurement abbreviation or a range/span, thus ‘five birds’ but ‘5 km’ and ‘5–12 birds’; numerals are used for all numbers above nine, with those with four or more digits using the comma, thus: ‘500’, ‘5,000’, ‘50,000’.
Coordinates should be expressed to three decimal places unless there are good reasons otherwise (6.063°N 80.253°E).
Single quotation marks are to be used.
Date and time should be expressed in the following format: 1 January 2021, 08:30, 17:55, using the 24-hour clock.
Tables should be in portrait format. When including birds’ names, both English and scientific names are to be given in one column, with the scientific name italicised as usual.
Maps should be marked with an appropriate scale and north arrow.
Abbreviations are as follows: ‘in litt.’, ‘pers. comm.’, ‘pers. obs.’.
Author names should be in CAPITALS at the top of the paper and should not include affiliations or contact details. Author names are repeated in lower case italics with affiliations and contact details after the References section.
Citations
Citation of informal correspondence
In general, the Journal of Asian Ornithology encourages referencing published peer-reviewed research, and discourages the referencing of unpublished material. However, when necessary, authors may cite a conversation ('pers. comm. 1998’) or a written exchange (‘in litt. 2020’) when referring to colleagues’ unpublished material. In such cases, the colleague’s family name and initials should be included with the year of communication, thus: (J. Doe, in litt. 1995). Similarly, if necessary, authors may cite their own unpublished work by referring to it as ‘pers. obs.’ Or ‘K. Sindh, unpubl. data’ (authors should not use ‘K. Sindh, in prep.’ in this instance).
Citation of publications
References should follow the form ‘(Li & Zhang 2013)’ or ‘Li et al. (2012) suggest…’. More than one citation within the same parentheses should be chronologically listed, alphabetically if of the same year. Publications by the same authors in the same year should be distinguished by ‘a’, ‘b’, etc. after the year. Authors must ensure that all references listed are cited in the text, and vice versa.
Full references should be listed alphabetically at the end in the following form:
Books
BirdLife International (2001) Threatened birds of Asia: the BirdLife International Red Data Book. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International.
Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C. & Inskipp, T. (2011) Birds of the Indian subcontinent. London: Christopher Helm.
Websites
BirdLife International (2012) Species factsheet: Rhinomyias brunneatus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 24/01/2012.
Book chapters
Erritzoe, J. (2003) Family Pittidae (pittas). Pp.106-162 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott & D.A. Christie, eds. Handbook of the birds of the world, 8. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions.
Articles
Chen, D., Braun, E.L., Forthman, M., Kimball, R.T. & Zhang, Z. (2018) A simple strategy for recovering ultraconserved elements, exons, and introns from low coverage shotgun sequencing of museum specimens: placement of the partridge genus Tropicoperdix within the Galliformes. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 129: 304-314.
Timmins, R.J., Mostafawi, N., Rajabi, A.M., Noori, H., Ostrowski, S., Olsson, U., Svensson, L. & Poole, C.M. (2009) The discovery of Large-billed Reed Warblers Acrocephalus orinus in north-eastern Afghanistan. BirdingASIA 12: 42-45.
Reports
Thompson, P.M. & Johnson, D.L. (1996) Birding in Bangladesh – a guide to birdwatching sites and a checklist of birds. Dhaka: unpublished report.
Editorial board
Editor-in-chief
Frank E. Rheindt, National University of Singapore
Associate editors
Keren Sadanandan, Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence (Munich, Germany)
Geoffrey Davison, National Parks Board Singapore
Production editor
Simon Roddis
Subject editors
Bas van Balen, Basilornis Consult
Carmela Española, University of the Philippines, Diliman
Chang-Yong Choi, Seoul National University
Chongleong Puan, Universiti Putra Malaysia
Colin R. Trainor, Charles Darwin University
James A. Eaton, Birdtour Asia
Le Manh Hung, Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi
Pavel Ktitorov, Russian Academy of Sciences, Far Eastern Branch
Philip D. Round, Mahidol University
Sayam Chowdhury, Bangladesh Spoon-billed Sandpiper Project
Shashank Dalvi, Birdtour Asia
Simon Mahood, Wildlife Conservation Society
Wieland Heim, Universität Münster
Yuda Pramana, UniversitasAtma Jaya Yogyakarta