Submission of Manuscripts: Only papers presenting original research that have not been previously published in any form will be considered for publication. It is understood that a paper, or any part therein, submitted to Bird Behavior is not being considered for publication elsewhere, and that, upon acceptance, the authors will transfer copyright to the publisher. It is further understood that a paper, or any part therein, accepted for publication in Bird Behavior will not be published elsewhere in any form without written consent of the Publisher.
Manuscripts should be prepared in compliance with the format outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4th Edition, 1994) except as otherwise noted in these instructions.
Common names of birds should not be capitalized.
Manuscripts must be in English (non-Anglicized), typewritten or word- processed on 8-1/2 x 11-inch white bond paper with 1-inch margins and printed on one side only. All parts of the manuscript should be double-spaced, including references and tables. If possible, use a 14-point serif font (e.g., Times, New York). In any case, do not use a font size smaller than 12 point. The original should not be stapled. Submit four complete copies of the manuscript to:
David B. Miller, Editor
Bird
Behavior
Department of Psychology
University of
Connecticut
406 Babbidge Road, Unit 1020
Storrs, CT 06269-1020 U.S.A.
Authors of accepted manuscripts will be asked to submit electronic copies of the final version of their paper on 3 and 1/2 inch diskettes in any format that is readable by Microsoft Word for Macintosh.
Cover Letter: A cover letter must accompany the manuscript with the following information:
1. The name, mailing address, phone number, and (if available), FAX number and complete E-Mail address of the author to whom editorial correspondence should be directed.
2. A statement that neither the manuscript in its entirety nor portions therein have been published previously nor are under consideration for publication elsewhere. If your manuscript contains figures, tables, long quotations, or other material that have been published elsewhere, include letters from the publishers (and, if applicable, authors) granting permission to reproduce those materials in this manuscript; or, indicate to the Editor that such permission requests are pending.
3. A statement indicating that all animals involved in the study (observational as well as experimental; field as well as laboratory) were treated in a humane fashion in accordance with the guidelines of the authors' research institution and, if applicable, disposed of in a manner prescribed by the authors' research institution.
4. A statement, if applicable, that all authors approve of the manuscript's submission.
5. A statement, if applicable, that persons cited for unpublished work or personal communication have approved such citation.
6. An optional statement indicating the names, addresses, telephone numbers, FAX numbers, and E-Mail addresses of up to three potential qualified reviewers who are unfamiliar with the manuscript and work contained therein, and who do not reside at the authors' institution(s), and who have not had a mentoring relationship with any of the authors. (Such reviewers will be used at the Editor's discretion.)
Manuscripts that do not contain a cover letter specifying the above information will be returned to the corresponding author unreviewed.
General Typing/Word-processing Instructions: Do not use boldface or italic type, and, do not type entire words in all capital letters. Indicate words to be italicized by underlining them, including the scientific names of all species cited in the manuscript. After the initial citation of a species' common and scientific name, it may thereafter be referred to solely by its common name. Use italics (underlining) sparingly as a means of word emphasizis.
Each page should have a header in the upper right-hand corner comprised of the author's last name, a dash, and the page number (e.g., Tallarico-1).
Page 1: Title Page. The first page of the manuscript should contain the full title of the paper (with major words capitalized). If the manuscript is an empirical paper, the title must contain both the common and scientific name of the species studied. The title page should also contain the names of all authors and the name of the institution at which the research was conducted and/or the institution with which the author was officially affiliated while the research was being conducted (in the case of field work which might have been conducted at a remote site). Near the bottom of the page, provide a descriptive running title that is no greater than 50 characters (including punctuation and spaces).
Page 2: Key Words. Provide up to 4 key words or phrases that describe your article. These will be printed with your article to aid in literature searches.
Page 3: Abstract. Describe the research project in no more than 300 words. The Abstract should cover the main points of the article. For empircal papers, be sure that the Abstract includes background, purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. Do not use references in the Abstract.
Page 4: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion. Follow the format prescribed in the APA Publication Manual for this material. Note that there should be no heading for the Introduction.
The 1994 version of the APA Manual refers to "Subjects" as "Participants." In the Methods section, please continue to use the conventional subheading, "Subjects," which is a more appropriate designation for nonhuman organisms.
Carefully follow the APA guidelines for levels and style of headings, abbreviations, numbers, statistics, reference citations, tables, and figures.
There should be no "Acknowledgements" section, as that information is incorporated in the Author's Note (see below).
References. The APA Publication Manual provides many detailed examples that should be followed carefully. A few general examples are as follows:
Journal Article
Staine, K. J., & Burger, J. (1994). Nocturnal foraging behavior of breeding piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) in New Jersey. Auk, 111, 579-587.
Book
Feduccia, A. (1980). The age of birds. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Book Chapter
Gray, L., & Rubel, E. W. (1985). Development of auditory thresholds and frequency difference limens in chicks. In G. Gottlieb & N. A. Krasnegor (Eds.), Measurement of audition and vision in the first year of postnatal life: A methodological overview (pp. 145-165). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Author Note. On a separate page titled "Author Note," indicate any address changes, grant support, acknowledgments of individuals who helped with the research, and an address for correspondence.
The first paragraph should list any address changes of authors, using the format, "Randall P. Russo is now at the Department of Biology University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124." Any other address changes for additional authors should follow in the same paragraph.
The second paragraph should, if applicable, first acknowledge grant support, listing the exact grant number (if applicable) and the granting agency. This should be followed by any acknowledgments of individuals who helped with the research.
The third paragraph should list the complete correspondence address of the author to whom reprint requests should be sent. Optionally, the mailing address may be followed by an E-Mail address. Please use the following format: "Correspondence concerning this article should be sent to Donna Roy, Department of Zoology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, U.S.A. Electronic mail may be sent via Internet to ROY@NCSU.EDU"
Tables. Tables should be typed one per page using the style prescribed by the APA Publication Manual . Wide tables may be typed sideways, and long tables may span more than one page.
Figure Captions. All of the figure captions should be typed on the next page in accord with APA style.
Figures. Figures should be arranged one per page. High-quality computer graphics are acceptable. Be certain that you use thin lettering that is large enough to withstand size reduction. Do not mix font styles within a figure, and try to use a sans serif font (e.g., Helvetica). Half-tones are also acceptable. The Editor encourages authors to submit sound spectrograms of bird vocalizations in half-tone format to preserve gray scales.
Each figure should be labelled lightly on the back with a pencil. Specify the author's name, the figure number, and the figure's orientation by drawing a small arrow pointing to the top.
More Help on APA Style and Manuscript Preparation. The following
sites provide helpful information for authors who are unfamiliar
with APA format and/or do not have access to the APA Publication
Manual.
Link 1
Link
2
Link 3