Journal profile · Ornithology
Bird Study
ISSN 0006-3657 · eISSN 1944-6705 · Taylor and Francis Ltd. · ENGLAND · Tri-annual · Founded 1954
Bird Study: CAS Zone 4 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.27; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 190 days to acceptance (61 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 38 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Bird Study is published by Taylor and Francis Ltd. and is in Zone 4 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Avian ecology and behavior, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation and Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies, together about 49.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Bird Study publishes high quality papers relevant to the sphere of interest of the British Trust for Ornithology: broadly defined as field ornithology; especially when related to evidence-based bird conservation. Papers are especially welcome on: patterns of distribution and abundance, movements, habitat preferences, developing field census methods, ringing and other techniques for marking and tracking birds. Bird Study concentrates on birds that occur in the Western Palearctic. This includes research on their biology outside of the Western Palearctic, for example on wintering grounds in Africa. Bird Study also welcomes papers from any part of the world if they are of general interest to the broad areas of investigation outlined above. Bird Study publishes the following types of articles: Original research papers of any length Short original research papers (less than 2500 words in length) Scientific reviews Forum articles covering general ornithological issues, including non-scientific ones Short feedback articles that make scientific criticisms of papers published recently in the Journal. Visit Bird Study's sister journal Ringing & Migration on the BTO website or on Taylor & Francis' website. The British Trust for Ornithology handle all permissions requests for the journal. Please contact permissions@bto.org for all enquiries.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Ornithology
Editor-in-chief Richard K. BroughtonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 12, Italy 2, Switzerland 1, Poland 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science28.6%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science14.5%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science6.3%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.1%
- Animal Ecology and Behavior StudiesEnvironmental Science5.3%
- Bird parasitology and diseasesImmunology and Microbiology5.1%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science4.3%
- Fish Ecology and Management StudiesEnvironmental Science3.9%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ornithology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ornithology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Ornithology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EBSCO, OCLC, CABI, NHM, University of Bremen, USDA, Elsevier BVPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.27LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.39LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.39Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.52LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.52Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 45LetPub ·
- h-index
- 75OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,550OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.99OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 23.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 13.39%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 39LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 329,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,110 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 | 7 | 0 |
| 2025 | 38 | 12 | 98 |
| 2024 | 41 | 20 | 189 |
| 2023 | 32 | 13 | 79 |
| 2022 | 13 | 7 | 66 |
| 2021 | 50 | 12 | 224 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
190 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 140 days – 248 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 66 days (61 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 263 days
- Sample
- 61 articles with submission and acceptance dates (64 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- 6–12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 33%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 65 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 68 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 63 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- original research paperlishes the following types of articles: Original research papers of any length Short original research papers (less than 2500 words in length) Scientific review…main text ≤ 2,500 words
- original research papers of any lengthOriginal research papers of any lengthLength not stated
- scientific reviewsScientific reviewsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
Bird Study is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership o…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Taylor and Francis Ltd.
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Tri-annual
- Founded
- 1954
- ISSN
- 0006-3657
- Electronic ISSN
- 1944-6705
- Society / sponsor
- British Trust for Ornithology
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 73, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Bird Study
What CAS zone is Bird Study in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Bird Study is in Zone 4 of Biology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Ornithology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Bird Study?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.27; CiteScore 2, h-index 75.
How long does peer review take at Bird Study?
Based on the dates recorded on 61 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 190 days (interquartile range 140–248 days); authors report an average review time of 6–12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 33%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Bird Study in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 4 of Biology.
Where are the editorial board members of Bird Study based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (12), Italy (2) and Switzerland (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Bird Study?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Bird Study is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Bird Study open access, and what is the APC?
Bird Study is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .