Journal of Field Ornithology

Aims & Scope

This journal provides open access to all of its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Such access is associated with increased readership and increased citation of an author’s work. On behalf of the Association of Field Ornithologists, Journal of Field Ornithology publishes original articles that emphasize the descriptive or experimental study of birds in their natural habitats. Articles depicting general techniques, emphasizing conservation, describing life history, or assessing published studies or existing ideas are appropriate. The Journal publishes studies from throughout the world, which may include banded birds or populations. We actively encourage submissions from nonprofessional ornithologists and from ornithologists from groups underrepresented in the sciences.Over the last decade, the Journal of Field Ornithology has consistently ranked in the top ten for impact factor among ornithological journals. As an online, open-access journal, we offer rapid progression through the peer-review process and early views on our website after acceptance. The Association of Field Ornithologists (AFO) is one of the world’s major societies of professional and avocational ornithologists dedicated to the scientific study and dissemination of information about birds in their natural habitats. Founded in 1922 as the New England Bird Banding Association, AFO shortly thereafter became the Northeastern Bird-Banding Association. This origin promoted an emphasis on bird banding and field techniques, always with field studies as a focus. Field studies continue to be a focus and, with new techniques in molecular ecology, bioacoustics technology, and behavioral ecology now available, field studies of birds are approaching ever-new questions. AFO encourages the participation of nonprofessionals in research and emphasizes conservation biology of birds. For more information or to become a member, visi

A twelfth criterion — whether APC fees are clearly disclosed — is not scored here; it is left out of the total rather than counted as a failure. Publication charges appear in the metrics card above.

Based on the Think.Check.Submit framework by DOAJ, COPE & OASPA. All data from verified open sources.

Source: OpenAlex · Each year’s green bar = citations earned by that year’s papers, counted to date — so recent years look lower simply because their papers haven’t had time to be cited yet.

SJR Quartile by Discipline

Scimago ranks this journal separately in each subject category — its quartile can differ by discipline.

Subject Classification