GUIDELINES TO AUTHORS ARDEA welcomes manuscripts reporting significant new findings in ornithology. Emphasis is on studies covering the ecology, life history, and evolution of birds. All submissions should be in English and are subject to peer review by at least two independent referees and a corresponding editor. The editor reserves the right to reject without review. All editorial correspondence should be addressed to the technical editor Jouke Prop (ardea.nou@planet.nl). Manuscripts - Only electronic submissions are accepted, preferably as single files including all Tables and Figures (file format: Word for Windows or RTF). Submission implies that the work is not being considered for publication elsewhere and that it has been approved by all authors. Articles should preferably not exceed 10 pages in print (~750 words per page, excluding Tables and Figures). Printing costs for articles exceeding 20 pages will be charged to the author. Short notes should not exceed 4 pages in print, including no more than two tables or figures. Articles should be structured as follows: Title (short and concise, plus a proposal for a 'running head'), Names of authors, Addresses of authors, Abstract (max 300 words), Key words (max ten), Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Samenvatting for native speakers), Tables, Figure captions and figures. Avoid too many subdivisions, do not use more than three levels of headings. The abstract should reflect both content and emphasis of the paper. The introduction should be restricted to scope, purpose, and the rationale of the study. Limit the information on material and methods to what is essential to judge whether the findings are valid. Results should answer questions posed at the outset of the paper.     Scientific names of genera and lower taxa should be in italics. Vernacular names of species should start with capitals, e.g. Northern Fulmar. Do not capitalize group names, e.g. grebes, gulls, corvids. A standard checklist for the relevant area should be consulted for nomenclature. For birds, follow the recommendations in Ardea 87(1): 139-166. Units and abbreviations should conform to the S.I. system where possible. Details of statistical analysis that always must be included are type of test, the value of the relevant test statistic, the sample size and/or degrees of freedom and the probability level. Commonplace statistical abbreviations such as ANOVA, SD, SE, df, t-test, Χ2, F, P, n, r, rS should be used. A post-fix to the test statistic symbol is preferred to present the degrees of freedom, e.g. Χ23, F12,34. References - Cited literature should be restricted to published papers. Only papers that have been accepted for publication may be incorporated, with the notation 'in press' (and the journal in which it will appear). Unpublished data, manuscripts in preparation and unpublished papers should be noted as 'pers. comm.' or 'unpubl. data'. Examples of literature cited in the text: (O'Connor 1984), (Baudinette & Schmidt-Nielsen 1974) or, in case of more than two authors (Pettifor et al. 1988). References in the text should be in order of publication, e.g. (Brown 1974, Anthony et al. 1981). In the reference list the literature cited should be in alphabetical order by the first word of the family name (e.g. van Eerden under V). Please use the following system. Articles in journals: Asbirk S. 1978. Tejsten Cepphus grylle som ynglefugl i Danmark. Dansk Orn. Foren. Tidsskr. 72: 161-178. van Eerden M.R. & Voslamber B. 1995. Mass fishing by Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis at lake IJsselmeer, The Netherlands: a recent and successful adaptation to a turbid environment. Ardea 83: 199-212. Books: Greenstreet S.P.R. & Tasker M.L. (eds) 1996. Aquatic predators and their prey. Fishing News Books, Oxford. Chapters in books and proceedings: Berger M. & Hart J.S. 1974. Physiology and energetics of flight. In: Farner D.S. & King J.R. (eds) Avian Biology, 4. Academic Press, New York, pp. 415-477. Illustrations and graphics - Figures do not need to be definitive, because they will be redrawn by our graphical department. However, figures need to be clear enough for referees and editors to review. Submission of illustrative photos supporting the text (as separate jpg or tiff-file) is encouraged. Figures and photos should be numbered in sequence of reference in the text. Tables - Tables should be concise and self-explanatory. Avoid landscape formats whenever possible. Tables that contain important information but are not indispensable to follow the reasoning in the text may be placed in an online appendix. Online appendices are free to download from the Ardea website. Accepted manuscripts - The text of accepted manuscripts should be provided by e-mail, preferably as a Word for Windows document. Manuscripts are edited to enhance communication between author and reader. Proofs are provided as a PDF. In the proof stage only essential corrections can be made, and any additional alterations may be charged to the author. Corrected proofs should be returned within 1 week. Corresponding authors receive a complimentary copy of the issue in which the publication appears and an electronic version of the final publication (PDF).