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Milvus (previously Birds in Wales and Welsh Birds) is the official journal of the Welsh Ornithological Society. It is published as three distinct editions in each year, although additional Special Issues may be published, when appropriate.
The first annual edition is devoted entirely to original articles. Articles may be full scientific papers, topic-focused reviews, or less formal communications including observational natural history such as novel behaviour, notes on species identification, notes on methods or equipment, or studies of interest with small sample sizes or non-significant but thought-provoking results. Full submission guidelines are available here and the Editor and Editorial Board are always happy to discuss the suitability of any piece of work relevant to Welsh birds for inclusion in Milvus, and to provide help and support to aspiring authors.
All articles appear in the printed version that is usually published in August. One article per issue may be made available as Open Access concurrent with the printing of the issue. Access to the full edition is restricted to registered WOS members for a period of twelve months from the date of publication (see wos-membership for membership information). Older open-access Milvus papers are available here . Article access for non-members within the twelve month closed period may be discussed with the Editor, but is easily arranged by taking up membership of the Society.
The second annual edition is the Scarce and Rare Birds Report, which is currently edited by Jon Green. This edition is published online and is available to members only.
The third annual edition is the Welsh Bird Report and the annual report on bird ringing in Wales. This edition is currently produced and edited by Julian Hughes. Access for non-members is restricted for the same time period as the first annual edition.
We have now digitised the archive of our journal, to make its contents more widely available to both members and the wider public. An index of papers that have featured in the journal up to and including 2020 can be downloaded below. This index contains links to sections of the Biodiversity Heritage Library, where full texts of all papers more than two years old can be found and downloaded.
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 and hopes that all workers, professional and amateur, who have results of studies in Wales will always consider publishing information about them here. All papers are reviewed by the Editor and an independent referee. Authors should follow the format of papers published in the journal. The submission process, guidelines for authors and publication process have recently been revised and can be downloaded here. Authors are asked to ensure that their titles and abstracts can easily be located by search engines – please look at the BOU guidelines for advice.
Papers are accepted in either Welsh or English, with the abstract is published in both languages. In accordance with standard international practice, papers in Welsh should be supplied with captions to tables and figures in both Welsh and English.
The deadline for the July issue of Milvus is 31 May, though if you are planning to contribute a paper, it is helpful if you can contact the editor, Rachel Taylor ahead of this, to discuss content, length and type of submission.
Rachel Taylor
BTO Cymru
milvuseditor@birdsin.wales
