Ardea

Journal of the Netherlands Ornithologists’ Union

Creating long-term value: Natural history is the basis

With our team of three Editors-in-Chief and a cadre of enthusiastic professional ornithologists as Editors, we aim to develop Ardea into the international journal where ‘descriptive ornithology’ gets pride of place next to studies covering its original scope, i.e. those about ecology, life history and evolution. Descriptive studies should be based on high-quality and replicated observations, if possible addressing solid questions about, and embedded within descriptions of, ecological context. There will be no page limits (although authors of long papers may be asked to help defray publication costs), yet there will be no space for the ‘overselling’ of apparent novelty. In fact, we encourage replicate studies of published work and honest discussions of the study’s limitations or encountered problems. We will emphasize the importance of careful description, good writing, historical backgrounds, succinct and clear statistics, and the use of photos where it helps the reader understand the system or issues. Manuscripts will be judged by the extent to which they contain careful and consistent natural history. Also, the presentation should be such that anyone can replicate the study using the data provided (if necessary, full data can be provided in a supplement). We are motivated by the conviction that, whereas solid data and interpretations will always remain valuable, a quick test of an en vogue hypothesis may not.