Danphe, a quarterly newsletter of Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) has been published since 1992. Due to its long publication history, wide circulation, popularity among bird researchers on Nepal’s birds, BCN  has set it as a biannual scientific journal that can cover multifaceted information on avian research and conservation activities of Nepal and the entire Himalayan regions covering from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China (Tibet), India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Aims and Scope

It is a peer-reviewed biannual (June & December) open access journal of scientific research on birds of Himalayan regions. The mission of the journal is to promote different facets of ornithological studies by encouraging researchers across its scope to publish and share their research and scientific information in an accessible form. It publishes checklists, habitat and distribution, taxonomic discoveries, new records, biology, population studies, conservation, avian behavior (e.g. nesting/feeding ecology, migration, foraging), review papers, illegal bird trade, captive birds, short notes/communication, including conservation activities and news. The information must be original work and have not been previously published elsewhere. The full length articles ranges from 4000-6000 words. However there is no page limit. Review papers and checklist might be longer based on the area coverage.

Danphe is published both in hard copy and online. The Danphe invites original research papers from contributors. Please read the detailed submissions guidelines below before sending your manuscript. The following structure of the paper is for original articles which is not applied for review papers and checklists.  

Submission Deadline: 30th September 2025

Submit your manuscript to : danphe@birdlifenepal.org

Publication Charge : There is no fee for submission, processing, or publication. 

Structure of the paper

Title (less than 25 words)

Author(s) name (First, Middle, Last) affiliation, email

Abstract (less than 200 words, concise and informative focusing on author’s research findings)

Keywords (5-6 words, no repetition from title)

Introduction (background information on the topic with pertinent reference citation, clear aim and justification with significance of the study)

Materials and Methods (Write a clear description of sampling procedures, field studies and statistical procedures, give the model number for equipment used)

Results (should be stated concisely, without interpretation).

Discussion (Interpret your results, relate them to the results of previous research, and discuss the implications of your results or interpretations, compare and contrast your research with other findings)

Conclusion (provide the main conclusions of the research and give a clear explanation of their importance and relevance)

Acknowledgements

References (should be in alphabetical order)

Instructions to authors

Papers should be in grammatically correct English. Scientific names of genera and species should be italicized. While preparing the manuscript, type in Times New Roman (font size 12pt, line spacing single, heading and subheading in bold without numbering) in A4 size paper in a single column. Separate paragraphs with a blank line. Figures, tables, and images will be published under a Creative Commons CC-BY license, and permission must be obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources. Each figure/table/illustration must be mentioned in the text in numerical order e.g. Figure 1., Figure 2., Table 1., Table 2.). If there are multiple figures/photographs arrange them in a single plate by numbering A, B, C, D. High resolution images (JPEG, TIFF) will be asked on the acceptance of the paper if required.

The arrangement of the main text varies with different types of papers but should usually start with an introduction and end with a list of references. References should be cited in the text as “Bhusal (2018); Baral & Inskipp (2020); Inskipp et al. (2020) (3 or more authors), or alternatively in a parenthesis (Bhusal 2018; Baral & Inskipp 2020; Inskipp et al. 2020). All literature cited in the text must be listed in the references in the following format,

Journal paper

Inskipp, C., Baral, H.S., Acharya, S., Chaudhary H., Ghimire, M. & Giri, D. 2020. Rare birds in Nepal. Nepalese Journal of Zoology 4(2):108–132. https://doi.org/10.3126/njz.v4i2.33894

Book Chapter

Baral, H.S. & Inskipp, C. 2020. Birds of Nepal: Their status, and conservation especially with regards to watershed perspectives. In:  Regmi, G.R. & Huettmann, F. (Ed.), Hindu Kush-Himalaya Watersheds Downhill: Landscape Ecology and Conservation Perspectives, Springer Nature, Switzerland, pp.435-458.

Book

Grimmett, R., Inskipp, C., Inskipp, T., & Baral, H.S. 2016. Helm Field Guide. Birds of Nepal (revised edition), Christopher Helm, Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 368 pp.

Internet sources

BirdLife International. 2024. State of the World's Birds 2024 Annual Update. Available from https://datazone.birdlife.org/articles/state-of-the-worlds-birds-2024-annual-update, (Accessed on 2025-07-19)

Thesis/Dissertation

Subedi, T.R. 2004. Distribution and diversity of diurnal raptorial birds in Shivapuri National Park and adjoining areas, Central Department of Zoology, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Report

Bhusal, K.P. & Paudel, K. 2015. Ecological monitoring and conservation of vultures in Jajarkot district, Nepal. A Report submitted to Oriental Bird Club, United Kingdom, p.40.

Review process

After receiving the manuscript first screening is done by the editorial board members and returned to the author(s) if the standard the paper needs further improvement before sending to the expert reviewers

The review process involves the following steps:

• After the first screening by the editorial board members, paper will be reviewed by two to three selected independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper.
• Reviewer’s comments will be sent to corresponding author to incorporate each and every comment.
• After receiving the final version along with response from author, the publication committee send the file to layout. The draft layout will be send to author for final correction.
• The review process normally takes approximately 1 to 3 months depending upon the response of the reviewers.

Conflict of interest

All authors must disclose a conflict of interest (COI) in their contributions.