Journal profile · Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
ISSN 2193-7192 · eISSN 2193-7206 · Springer Berlin Heidelberg · GERMANY · 4 issues per year · Founded 1853
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.68; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,990; median 180 days to acceptance (98 articles, last 24 months); 106 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY is published by Springer Berlin Heidelberg and is in Zone 3 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, Animal Behavior and Reproduction and Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, together about 50.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Ecology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The journal publishes original papers, reviews, short notes, technical notes, and commentaries dealing with all aspects of ornithology. Submissions focused solely on faunistic reports of local significance are not considered.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Agricultural and Biological Sciences-Animal Science and Zoology
Editor-in-chief Franz BairleinPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 4%); most named Germany 18, Switzerland 4, United Kingdom 3, Netherlands 3, Austria 3 (57 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Avian ecology and behaviorEnvironmental Science24.3%
- Animal Behavior and ReproductionAgricultural and Biological Sciences15.5%
- Wildlife Ecology and ConservationEnvironmental Science10.4%
- Plant and animal studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.9%
- Species Distribution and Climate ChangeEnvironmental Science6%
- Bird parasitology and diseasesImmunology and Microbiology5.2%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science5%
- Animal Vocal Communication and BehaviorBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.1%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ornithology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Ornithology | Zone 2 |
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 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CASCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
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
- 1.68LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- h-index
- 85OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,451OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.86OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 51.48%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 101LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 583,300Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,693 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 89 | 50 | 23 |
| 2025 | 106 | 58 | 130 |
| 2024 | 109 | 53 | 411 |
| 2023 | 98 | 72 | 519 |
| 2022 | 94 | 46 | 658 |
| 2021 | 101 | 56 | 877 |
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
180 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 129 days – 245 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 17 days (98 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 194 days
- Sample
- 98 articles with submission and acceptance dates (223 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
- Submission to first decision
- 8 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,990 / EUR 2,990 / GBP 2,590 | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Colour charges
- EUR 950
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)
What to prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Required, 3
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- commentaryManuscript length Original Papers should normally not exceed 4000 words of main text, some 50 references, and up to 8 figures and tables, respectively. Reviews …Length not stated
- editorialManuscript length Original Papers should normally not exceed 4000 words of main text, some 50 references, and up to 8 figures and tables, respectively. Reviews …Length not stated
- methods paperManuscript length Original Papers should normally not exceed 4000 words of main text, some 50 references, and up to 8 figures and tables, respectively. Reviews …Length not stated
- original paperManuscript length Original Papers should normally not exceed 4000 words of main text, some 50 references, and up to 8 figures and tables, respectively. Reviews …main text ≤ 4,000 words
- reviewManuscript length Original Papers should normally not exceed 4000 words of main text, some 50 references, and up to 8 figures and tables, respectively. Reviews …Length not stated
- short communicationManuscript length Original Papers should normally not exceed 4000 words of main text, some 50 references, and up to 8 figures and tables, respectively. Reviews …main text ≤ 1,500 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability
The journal encourages authors to provide a statement of Data availability in their article. Data availability statements should include information on where data supporting the results reported in the article can be found, including, where applicable, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Data availability statements can also indicate whether data are av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Journal of Ornithology, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Springer accepts posting of preprints of primary research manuscripts on preprint servers, authors’ or institutional websites. Details of our policy on posting, licensing, citation of preprints and communications with the media about preprints of primary research manuscripts may be found here. Authors should disclose details of preprint posting, including DOI and licensing terms, upon submission o…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Clinical Trial Registration
The World Health Organization (WHO) definition of a clinical trial is "any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes". The WHO defines health interventions as “A health intervention is an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or population whose purpose is to ass…
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
- Springer Berlin Heidelberg
- Country or region
- GERMANY
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- Founded
- 1853
- ISSN
- 2193-7192
- Electronic ISSN
- 2193-7206
- Society / sponsor
- German Ornithologists' Society
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 167, Issue 3 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
What CAS zone is JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Ornithology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.68; CiteScore 3, h-index 85.
How long does peer review take at JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY?
Based on the dates recorded on 98 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 180 days (interquartile range 129–245 days). 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 are the manuscript requirements of JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Required, 3. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY based?
Of the 57 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 4%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Germany (18), Switzerland (4) and United Kingdom (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists CAS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY open access, and what is the APC?
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,990.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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: .