Publishing original material, articles, notices, branch and Club news, along with up to date information on birds in Scotland (including reports of rare and scarce bird sightings), our members tell us that Scottish Birds is one of the key benefits of belonging to the SOC.
Lockdown FREE READ: Scottish Birds, Vol 40 (1), March 2020
In light of the prevailing Covid-19 restrictions on movement, we recognise that birders everywhere will be confined to their homes, unable to enjoy their usual activities out in the field. As such, we have made a digital version of the March 2020 issue of the SOC’s members’ journal FREE for anyone to read. It's available to download here. Due to the short time frame for getting this digital issue ready, we're waiting for some photographers' permissions to publish their photos (these have been blurred in the meantime), but we'll update the PDF with high-resolution images once we hear back from them.
Scottish Birds is the quarterly journal for SOC members and is published in March, June, September and December annually. Considered to be a leading authority on Scottish ornithology, Scottish Birds offers readers the complete story of birds in Scotland and acts as a channel of communication for SOC members.
Its different sections have been developed to meet the wide needs of the birdwatching community and it's a firm favourite amongst photographers for its first-class photography.
Find out more about and take a peek inside the latest issue of Scottish Birds
SNEAK PEEK Request a sample issue Join Us
Scottish Birds Editorial team:
Co-ordinating editor:
Ian Andrews
Peer-reviewed papers:
Dr Stan da Prato
Assisted by:
Dr I. Bainbridge, Dr M. Marquiss, R. Swann, Dr W. Miles & Dr C. R. McKay
Articles, news and views:
Jimmy Maxwell, Dr Stuart L. Rivers & Harry Scott
Contributions to Scottish Birds
Material for contribution should be sent to Wendy Hicks at SOC HQ. Ideally contributions should be submitted by email or on disc, but typed or handwritten material is also fine. For more information on contributing, please read our advice to contributors.
Passing on your feedback to the Editors
Please send this c/o Waterston House, Aberlady, East Lothian, EH32 0PY or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Subscribe to Scottish Birds today
Join us today to receive your copy of Scottish Birds every quarter or contact us if you would like more information about membership. If your Library or Institution would like to subscribe please contact us. The current rate is £60 annually (for delivery to all non-UK addresses a £15 postage supplement applies). To renew your Library or Institution membership, please click here.
Scottish Birds online
Older back issues of the journal can now be downloaded in a searchable PDF format, click here to start searching. Recent back issues of the journal are available for purchase from Waterston House, SOC Headquarters, at £7 each plus p&p.
Scottish Bird News
In summer 2009, the Club decided to incorporate its members’ magazine and journal, Scottish Bird News, along with the independent Birding Scotland, into a single publication under the Scottish Birds cover. Back issues of Scottish Bird News are still available to download.
