Article types

Papers for Milvus are welcomed by the Editor on any aspect of Welsh ornithology. The Society is keen that the journal should accurately reflect present ornithological activity in Wales. For a list of items suitable for publication, please see ‘2. Detailed requirements’.

Manuscript submission

Papers are accepted and published in either Welsh or English. All submissions should be sent to the Editor using the email address, above. Papers should not have been submitted to any other journal. In accordance with standard international practice, papers in Welsh should be supplied with captions to tables and figures in both Welsh and English and with an English summary. A Welsh summary for English papers will be arranged by the Editor if the authors are unable to produce one.

Preparation of manuscripts

The Editor is happy to advise on suitable topics and would welcome enquiries at an early stage. Please pay close attention to ‘3. Detailed Requirements’.

Please write in a readable style that avoids complications, jargon and pomposity. All papers will be reviewed by the Editor and at least one independent referee. Comments made by the referee will be passed on to the author(s) to consider whether any changes are required. If the referee and the author(s) disagree on any proposed changes, the Editor’s decision will be final.

Species names

Milvus follows IOC World Bird Names for taxonomy and nomenclature, as can be seen in the Welsh Bird List. Species names in English or Welsh should be capitalised. For example “Red Grouse” not “Red grouse”.  Similarly, non-avian species should be capitalised, for consistency.

Scientific names should be in italics, with the second part in lower case, so Lagopus lagopus. The first time any species is mentioned in the paper, the English or Welsh name should be followed by the scientific name in brackets in the first instance. For example: “This paper report on a study of Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus) on a moor in …”.

Submission-to-publication workflow

The review stage

When an article is submitted, it is assigned to the Editor or a member of the Editorial Board who will then send it to at least one independent reviewer for their thoughts and feedback. When the review is received, the assigned editor will consider the feedback. Sometimes manuscripts are accepted in the first instance and sometimes changes are required. Authors will be advised of the status of their paper by the assigned editor. There are four broad categories:

Accept – There are no substantial issues with the work and it can be taken forward for publishing. Note that the work may still be subject to editing during the proofing stage (see below).

Minor revisions – There are some, minor issues that require attention, but there are no major issues.

Major revisions – The work requires substantial attention if it is to be considered for publication. Major revisions are typically requested where there are extensive issues with the text, or the analyses need to be reconsidered (for example). 

Reject – The work contains one or more substantial errors such that it requires a great deal of attention if it is to be considered for publication. 

This stage typically takes 2-4 weeks, depending on reviewer availability and other commitments. 

The resubmission stage

If the work requires some additional work by the authors then it will be returned to the corresponding author, noting the changes that need to be made if the work is to be considered for publication. The author will be asked to submit an amended version that may or may not be sent for further review, depending on the nature of the initial decision (e.g. a paper subject to major revisions is more likely to be sent for a second round of reviews than one subject to minor revisions).

When resubmitting a paper, the author(s) should submit their amended manuscript, along with a detailed response to the more substantive reviewer comments (please contact the Editor if you have any questions). If the author(s) and the editor cannot agree on changes, either part may withdraw the paper from consideration for publication in the journal.

The duration of this stage varies considerably, depending on the extent of the required changes (if there are any) and the potential need for further review.

The copy editing stage

After acceptance, the work will be taken forward for copy editing. This stage involves the assigned editor checking the spelling, language, grammar and structure (e.g. format of references) of the work. The corresponding author will then be provided with a copy edited version of the text and asked to respond to the editor’s decisions. This typically involves accepting or rejecting proposed changes and providing further information or comments, where appropriate. If the author(s) and the editor cannot agree on changes, either part may withdraw the paper from consideration for publication in the journal.

Once the final text has been agreed, the paper will be forwarded to our typesetter who will format the work and all elements thereof into the final format for publishing.

This stage typically takes 2-4 weeks.

The publishing stage

At this stage, a pdf of the final paper will be sent to the corresponding author and published online at milvusjournal.wales in the first instance. Published articles will be collected and published in hard copy in June/July of each calendar year. Hard copies are provided to members of the Welsh Ornithological Society and can be purchased from same. Authors are not entitled to a hard copy of the journal if they are not WOS members.

We aim to publish articles online within 2-4 weeks of final copy editing.