Invitation to authors: British Columbia Birds

British Columbia Birds Journal - BCFOBritish Columbia Birds welcomes submissions of original manuscripts of any length, on wild birds in British Columbia (B.C.). Studies from neighbouring areas will also be considered for publication if birds found in B.C. are discussed in the manuscript.

British Columbia Birds is the B.C. journal of record for reporting rarities or range expansions, the general status of species, avian ecology and behaviour. It publishes new observations on birds, or even a single bird. Suitable topics include distribution, abundance, extralimital occurrence or range expansion, reviews of status, banding, identification, plumage variation, moult, behaviour, feeding, breeding, habitat, ecological relationships, reviews, or history and biography of ornithology.

Manuscripts summarizing field research are highly desirable. Annotated lists based on detailed study of an area could be a useful publication, although records from brief visits are more suitable for the BCFO newsletter, B.C. BIRDING. Papers based on laboratory research (e.g. physiology) are not suitable for the journal unless authors demonstrate strong links to avian behaviour or ecology. Advocacy articles will not be considered.

Papers and notes in British Columbia Birds count as refereed (peer-reviewed) articles in the scientific literature; manuscripts are reviewed by the editor, one member of the editorial board and one qualified outside person. The editor will assist new authors in achieving a suitable format. The journal is in its 18th year and volume (as of 2008). It is archived in the National Library of Canada Serials Records Section, Canadian Museum of Nature, Royal Ontario Museum, Van Tyne Memorial Library of Wilson Ornithological Society (Michigan), and the larger university and public libraries in B.C. Articles are abstracted in Zoological Record and online in Ornithological Worldwide Literature. Each paper is posted on the BCFO web site at the same time as the print version is published, so it will be found by others when they search the web. The author is supplied with printed and electronic (pdf) copies.

Submissions should follow the style and format of recent papers on the BCFO website, and the detailed instructions in Guidelines for authors: British Columbia Birds (pdf) which can be accessed at the same website, in printed volume 18, or directly from the editor.

Submissions and enquiries should be directed to the editor:

Art Martell
Editor, British Columbia Birds
251-3399 Crown Isle Drive
Courtenay, BC V9N 9X7
Phone: 250-334-2979
Email: