Ornithological Journals

Keeping Us Updated On Matters Ornithological

The ornithology community have a number of magazines to serve their needs and there are also magazines that address problems in ornithology. However, most ornithological work will be published in the form of scientific papers in recognised journals.

Descriptions of new species and reclassification of existing ones usually appear first in such journals as do studies of behaviour, habitat needs, conservation and much more. In fact a species is not recognised as such until an article has been published in a recognised peer reviewed journal. Listed on these pages are some of the most important journals and some portals for access to the huge amount of archived material for study by ornithologists and others.These ‘Portals’ include a number of archives that house vast numbers of scientific magazine titles and access to the individual journal or article within them… sometimes free, sometimes with a payment per article and some, like JSTOR where affiliate institutions or individuals can apply for a pass for an annual fee so as to be able to access their archives on line. As a regular researcher I find these very useful sources.

While scientific many of these journals try not to be ‘high-brow’ but accessible to everyday birders, not just ornithologists used to esoteric language. However, expect to know the basics of scientific nomenclature and scientific species names.