Instructions for authors

Original work from all fields of ornithology, irrespective of its geographic origin, is published in Acrocephalus. However, submissions from Southeast Europe and Eastern Mediterranean are particularly encouraged. Submissions are considered on the condition that papers are previously unpublished, are not simultaneously submitted elsewhere and that all of the authors approve of the content.

Acrocephalus publishes original articles, review articles, points-of-view, editorials (commissioned by the editor), letters, short communications, short notes (“From the ornithological notebook”), thesis abstracts and book reviews.

Contributions can be published in English or Slovene. Manuscripts must be written with a solid basis in the English language. For papers with an inadequate level of English the editor reserves the right to delay their entry in the editorial process pending language editing at the expense of the authors.

Submission procedure

Manuscripts should be submitted by e-mail to tilen.basle@dopps.si.

Original articles and review articles are peer-reviewed by two referees and further reviewed by the editor and the editorial board. The procedure can therefore be expected to last at least three months. The authors should modify their work according to the referees’ comments and explain any non-accepted comments when returning the manuscript. The editor decides whether the manuscript should be accepted, rejected or additional review is to be made. Points-of-view and short communications are reviewed by one referee, while short notes (“From the ornithological notebook”) are reviewed by the editor. All manuscripts are proofread for the correct use of English and Slovene.

General remarks

Manuscripts should be edited in Microsoft Word or OpenOffice.org (DOC or DOCX format), the font should be Times New Roman, size 12pt and formatted in single spacing. Send figures separately from the manuscript in TIFF or JPG formats with a resolution of at least 300 dpi. For vector graphics EPS and CDR are preferred. Send tables and graphs in XLS format, each in a separate worksheet of the same XLS document. Titles and legends of tables and graphs should be included both in the manuscript and the XLS document.

English bird names should follow SVENNSON et al. [SVENNSON, L., MULLARNEY, K. & ZETTERSTRÖM, D. (2009): Collins Bird Guide. 2nd Edition. – HarperCollins, London.]. Scientific bird names should follow recommendations of the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee Taxonomic Sub-committee. Slovene bird names should follow JANČAR et al. [JANČAR, T., BRAČKO, F., GROŠELJ, P., MIHELIČ, T., TOME, D., TRILAR, T. & VREZEC, A. (1999): Imenik ptic zahodne Palearktike. – Acrocephalus 20 (94/96): 97–162.].

Rarities should be accepted by the national rarities’ committee, it it exists (Slovenian Rarities Committe). Exceptionally, if the committee is not operating for more than six months after submitting the rarity, it can be assessed by editorial board and published.

Format of original articles submitted for publication

The manuscript should be headed by the title, article type, names of authors, their affiliation and e-mail addresses. If the first author is not the corresponding author, this should be indicated.

Abstract: It should present the aims, methods, main results and conclusions in no more than 250 words. References and abbreviations should not be used in the abstract.

Key words: Give up to 8 keywords separated by commas. Choose them carefully, because they serve indexing purposes and enable readers to find your paper in online databases.

Main text: The IMRAD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) should be followed. Scientific names in italics should be given in the title (if appropriate), at the first mention of the species in the abstract and at the first mention in the main text.

References should be cited in alphabetical order and, for the same author, in chronological order. If the author published more than one work in the same year, a small letter is added to the year (e. g. TOME 1990A). In the text, references are cited as HOWELL (2012) or (HOWELL 2012) as appropriate. Works written by two authors are cited as (BORJAN & BOŽIČ 2009), those by more than two authors as (BORJAN et al. 2013).

Citing unpublished data should be avoided as much as possible, these references should only be mentioned in the main text, not in the list of references. Citing of papers in preparation is only allowed if they are already accepted for publication.

References should be in the following style:

• journal paper: PETKOV P. (2011): Habitat characteristics assessment of the wetlands with breeding Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca and Pochard A. ferina in Bulgaria. – Acrocephalus 32 (150/151): 127–134.
• book: BALMER D. E., GILLINGS S., CAFFREY B. J., SWANN R. L., DOWNIE I. S., FULLER R. J. (2013): Bird Atlas 2007–11: The Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland. – BTO Books, Thetford.
• chapter in book: DIETRICH J., FLADE M., LIPSBERGS J. (1997): Penduline Tit Remiz pendulinus. pp. 656–657 In: HAGEMAIJER W. J. M., BLAIR M. J. (eds.): The EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds. – T & AD Poyser, London.
• short note: ERNST S. (2013): Pygmy Owl Glaucidium passerinum. – Acrocephalus 34 (156/157): 131–132.
• conference proceedings: VREZEC A. (2007): The Ural Owl (Strix uralensis macroura) – status and overview of studies in Slovenia. pp. 16–31. In: MÜLLER J., SCHERZINGER W., MONING C. (eds.): European Ural Owl workshop: Bavarian forest national park. – Graphischer Atelier H, Prague.
• dissertation or thesis: LIČINA T. (2012): [Predation of eggs in artificial ground bird nests in forest in the area of Menina mountain]. BSc thesis. – Univerza v Ljubljani, Biotehniška fakulteta, Oddelek za biologijo. (in Slovene)
• web sources: ZOIS, S. (1790/1800): Aves terrestres Europae. – [http://www.dlib.si/details/URN:NBN:SI:DOC-YJ3DA9MZ], 01/05/2014.
• legislation: URADNI LIST RS (2011): Uredba o Načrtu upravljanja Krajinskega parka Sečoveljske soline za obdobje 2011–2021. No. 53/2011.

Titles of works, published in languages other than English or Slovene, should only be translated if a translated title is supplied with the original work. For example:
MONTADERT M., LÉONARD P. (2011): [Breeding biology of Hazel Grouse Bonasa bonasia in the South-Eastern French Alps (1^st part)]. – Alauda 79 (1): 1–16. (in French)
Titles, originally in a script other than Latin, should be latinized even if the original language is preserved.

Tables should be headed by an informative title and a brief explanatory legend, enabling the reader to understand the general meaning without referring to the main text. Tables are drawn without vertical lines and referred to as, e. g. “Table 1” in the text.

Figures: Titles should be given below the figures. They are referred to as, e. g. “Figure 1” in the text.

Format of other sections

Review papers and points-of-view should follow the same general rules as original articles, but the titles of sections may be adapted to the content.

Short communications should follow the general rules of original papers, but the authors are free to determine its structure.

Forum: The author of the comment is allowed one comment, to which the author of the original article can reply in the same issue.

Short notes “From the ornithological notebook”: The title is the name of the species. A short abstract should give the date of observation, observation site with coordinates (UTM, degrees or Gauss-Krüger) and summarize the note. In the text, references are cited as SNOW & PERRINS (1998) or (SNOW & PERRINS 1998) as appropriate. Short notes should be submitted in separate files, one note per file.

Special abbreviations used in text: English: pers. comm., unpubl., own data, in print;
Slovene: pisno, ustno, neobj., lastni podatki, v tisku, v pripravi.