African Journals Online
Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology

Instructions to Authors:

The journal will publish refereed scientific papers and short communications (<2 000 words) containing the results of original work and review articles within the general field of ornithology in sub-Saharan Africa and its islands. Extended taxonomic reviews will not be considered unless they include relevant discussion of behavioural or ecological criteria; if in doubt, please consult the editor. Reviews of relevant books will also be published. All communications, with the exception of book reviews, will be scrutinised by referees.

Editorial policy: Submission of a manuscript implies that the material has not previously been published, nor is it being submitted elsewhere for publication. Submission of a manuscript will be taken 
to imply transfer of copyright of the material to the publishers, NISC. Contributions are accepted on the understanding that the authors have the authority for publication. Material accepted for publication in this journal may not be reprinted or published in translation without the express permission of the publishers, NISC.

Manuscripts: Manuscripts should be submitted in English, but may include a summary in a second language. Typescripts must be presented on one side only of A4 paper in double spacing with wide margins. Manuscripts and books for review should be submitted to the Editor, Ostrich, BirdLife South Africa, PO Box 515, Randburg 2125, South Africa, e-mail: [email protected].  We encourage authors to submit manuscripts via e-mail, in MS Word or in Rich Text Format (rtf), but we also require two hard copies of any email submission.

Layout: A recent issue of Ostrich should be consulted for general layout and style.

Page charges: Contributions submitted to Ostrich after May 2003 will be liable for page charges at the following rates: standard black and white pages at R100 (US$20) for subscribers and R150 (US$30) for non-subscribers. Colour pages can be printed at a cost of R750 (US$100) per page. Page charges may be waived in special cases at the discretion of BirdLife South Africa.

Manuscript format: All pages must be numbered consecutively, including those containing the references, tables and figures. The typescript of full papers should be arranged as follows:
Title - (a) Title: This should be brief, sufficiently informative for retrieval by automatic searching techniques and should contain important keywords (preferably <10 words). (b) Author(s) and Address(es) of author(s): The corresponding author must be indicated. The authors' respective addresses where the work was done must be indicated. An e-mail address, telephone number and fax number for the corresponding author must be provided.
Abstract - This must be a concise statement of the scope of the work and the principal findings. It must not exceed 200 words. It should summarise the information presented in the paper but should not include references. 
Introduction - This should outline the problem in general and clearly state the study objectives. References to previous work are only desirable if they have direct bearing on the subject of the paper. A detailed review of the literature is usually inappropriate.
Intermediate section - Typically the intermediate sections will be Procedures (including data analysis), Results, Discussion (may be linked to Results), Conclusions and Acknowledgements (including funding sources and names of pre-submission reviewers). Perspective papers may have different headings, while research notes, letters and book reviews should have no headings.
References - References to literature within an article must be arranged chronologically. References to works by more than two authors should be abbreviated with et al. The list of references at the end of the article must be arranged alphabetically:
Craig A and Hulley P 1996. What's the difference between robins and thrushes? SAFRING News 25: 51-52
Payne RB and Payne LL 1997. Field observations, experimental design, and the time and place of learning in bird songs. In: Snowdon C and Hausberger M (eds) Social Influences on Vocal Development. pp 57-84. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 
Urban EK, Fry CH and Keith S (eds) 1997. The Birds of Africa, Vol. 5. Academic Press, London 
Journal titles must be provided in full and not in abbreviated form.
Tables - Each table, numbered with Arabic numerals in the order in which they are to appear, must be on a separate sheet of paper with the table number and an appropriate stand-alone caption. Tables may include up to five horizontal lines but no vertical lines.
Figures - High quality originals must be provided. They must be prepared separately on white A4 paper. Graph axes must state in upper case the quantity being measured, followed by the appropriate SI units in parenthesis. Figures must not repeat data presented in the text or tables. Figures should be planned to appear with a maximum final width of either 80mm or 175mm. Lettering must be provided by the author(s); freehand lettering is not acceptable. Letters, numbers and symbols must appear clearly, but not oversized. Lettering must be in Arial. It is recommended that one uniform size be used throughout the manuscript. Complicated symbols or patterns must be avoided. Graphs and histograms should preferably be two-dimensional and scale marks (turning inwards) provided. All lines (including boxes) should be black, but not too thick and heavy. Line artwork (including drawings and maps) must be high-quality laser output (not photocopies). The use of greytones should be avoided; pattern textures should rather be used. Photographs should be excellent quality on glossy paper, with clear details and sufficient contrast. In addition to the print versions, illustrations, including all graphs and chemical formulae, must be submitted in electronic format, e.g. tif or eps, with each figure saved as a separate file (at least 600dpi). The source file of each graphic should also be included. It is important to indicate with your submission the software package(s) used for all files supplied. The cost of printing colour illustrations in the journal will be charged to the author.

Conventions: The English name of a species is capitalised (e.g. Southern Brown-throated Weaver) but not the name of a group of species (e.g. robins, weavers). Scientific names of genera and species - but not family names - and foreign words should be italicised. Trinomials may be used only when accurately known and essential to the results and discussion. Both the English and scientific names must be cited when a species is first mentioned but thereafter only one need be used. The English and scientific names of a species recorded from southern Africa should be those used in the BLSA Checklist of Southern African Birds (1999) or in Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa (1985, 1993 editions). For other regions, English and scientific names should be taken from the Birds of Africa (1982 onwards), or an authoritative regional checklist. Metric symbols and their international symbols are used throughout. The UK spelling convention should be followed. There should be a single space between sentences. The period (.) must be used as the decimal indicator, and spaces must appear before the third digit to the left of the decimal point (e.g. 1 234.56g). Thousands/millions should be marked with a space and not a comma.

Authors will receive 25 free reprints. Reprints in CD-Rom format can be purchased from the publishers, NISC.