Avian Research: a valuable addition to the portfolio of ornithological journals

We are pleased to share with readers that our journal Avian Research, jointly published by China Ornithological Society (COS) and Beijing Forestry University, has been included by the Journal Citation Report^® (JCR) of Thomson Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and received its first Impact Factor in the summer of 2016. Articles tracked by the Web of Science of the same company are traced back to the inaugural issue of our journal in 2014.

Currently, about two dozens of ornithological journals are indexed by Web of Science, and an Impact Factor is released annually for each journal by the JCR. Most of these journals are published by North American and European entities, reflecting the activities of ornithological research among countries across the world. This is not surprising because North American and European countries have a much longer history in bird research. Although Asian countries, particularly China and Japan, have become an important part of avian research in the world, no professional journal in this field was included by JCR until 2013 when Ornithological Science published by the Ornithological Society of Japan was tracked for the Impact Factor. Avian Research, in its third year of the establishment, is now the second in Asia being included in the renowned database of science citation indexing.

Thomson ISI is strict and follows high standards in deciding journals to include, which is one of the reasons that Impact Factor, although in constant debate among academic and research circles, is still the most popular criterion for evaluating the quality of a journal. Avian Research has attracted wide attention and got recognition among ornithologists across the world quickly. Since its inception in 2014, Avian Research has received high-quality contributions, including research articles and reviews, from authors of all continents, including significant contributions of authors from North American and European countries, covering the full scope of ornithology. Through collaboration with the leading Open Access publisher BioMed Central, our journal has pursued a high standard for editing and short processing duration; papers are accessible immediately after proofing through the web without any cost to readers.

COS, with a membership of over 1000, was founded in 1980, much later than those world-leading ornithological organizations. However, COS has made impressive advancements in all areas of ornithology during past three decades, particularly in fields such as paleontology, pheasant and crane conservation, avian evolution, and applications of molecular technology to systematics. These achievements are the strong support to the successful operation of Avian Research. We are grateful to the authors, reviewers and audience who have supported our journal, particularly the board members who have contributed greatly in every way for achieving the high standards of our journal.

As the official journal of COS, Avian Research welcomes submissions from authors around the world, with a special interest in research in or related to China and other Asian countries. It is one of our missions to make our journal an important window for introducing ornithological advances from Asia to the world. To sustain the high quality of our journal, we are committed to the priority of publishing works with great importance to the advances of ornithology. However, works with significance to other fields, such as research design and methodologies, are also encouraged for submission. We are hopeful that Avian Research will become one of the leading journals in the field in the near future.

Authors' contributions

YW and GZ contributed equally in developing the ideas of this manuscript. YW finalized the draft with the guidance of GZ. Both authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.