Based in Southern California, WildBird is published bimonthly by BowTie Magazines, a division of BowTie Inc. As the most widely read birding magazine, we strive to provide stories that interest everyone from beginning birders to longtime enthusiasts.

We enjoy receiving queries about

• backyard birding
• destination/field birding
• species profiles
• identification techniques and tips
• habitat and species conservation efforts
• the next generation of birders
• bird photography techniques and tips
• photo essays

We do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. You’re invited to send a concise query via e-mail that proposes your story idea, shows your familiarity with WildBird and reveals your writing and birding experience. We want to showcase informative and entertaining articles in each issue. More details appear below.

To find the fabulous images in each issue, we work with a limited number of photographers who receive the photo needs list. Each year, we review the number of published images by the photographers to ensure that we maintain a productive partnership. If you’re interested in being considered for the waiting list, please look at the photography guidelines below.

Article Guidelines
Each story should have a specific hook, and the query has to illustrate how WildBird readers would benefit from reading your article. Here are two examples:

• What’s the best way to birdscape your patio or yard, making it more attractive to local and migratory birds? Let me tell you five steps to get started.
  .
• Stay away from hotspots in Florida, Texas, southeastern Arizona and California this year. Here’s why you want to go off the beaten path.

We do not want stories about one weekend visit to a top birding area, because we want a birder intimately familiar with the region to write the article. That way, we have a solid base of information regarding changes to the birdlife and habitat and about the services in the neighboring areas.

Our international coverage for the most part is limited to highly accessible areas, mostly in the Western Hemisphere, unless you provide a truly unique hook.

Length: Features run 1,000 to 1,600 words.

Sidebars: All features should have at least one short sidebar that complements the main story and provides phone numbers and website addresses for all businesses, organizations and locations mentioned in the article.

Pay Rates: WildBird pays $250 to $400 for features, more for a story-photo package. Rates are negotiable. Payment for articles accepted and published in WildBird occurs during the first month of the issue date. Pay rates vary if the author’s photos appear in the article. Writers with magazine-quality photos should indicate that in their queries.

Rights: BowTie purchases the sole and exclusive, first-time rights for one North American edition of the magazine and one of each foreign language edition of the magazine for a period of six (6) months from the date of first publication of the North American edition in which the article appears, after which the licensed rights granted shall be worldwide and non-exclusive. The licenses granted are for the duration of copyright in the article. The licenses granted include all rights accorded under U.S. and foreign laws, including the rights of reproduction, distribution, syndication, display, public performance and creation of derivative works, in accordance with the license fees set forth in the contract. The licenses also include the right to sublicense the rights granted. Publisher is under no obligation to exercise any one or more of the above rights and reserves the right to reject the article.

Some writers expect final review of the edited versions of their manuscripts, a practice at some birding and ornithological journals. WildBird does not follow that practice.

Please send queries to wildbird@bowtieinc.com. The editorial calendar typically is assigned in May for the following year’s issues, so replies likely will arrive before summer.

We do not discuss queries over the phone. Specific tips about the query process appear in the WildBird blog’s sidebar, and we highly recommend reading them.

Photography Guidelines
We accept digital submissions only:

• on compact disc, not via e-mail
• 9x12” or 2700x3600 pixels
• 300 dpi
• TIFF or EPS format
• RGB
• 8 bit
• filenames with the species name and the photographer’s name (e.g. Henderson EABL1 for Henderson’s first of three Eastern Bluebird images)
• on a separate sheet, 2” thumbnails with the filenames

Tip: We prefer action photos more than static portraits. Show us a bird’s behavior!

Pay Rates: WildBird pays a minimum of $90 per photo. Rates for photo-story packages are negotiable. All payment for photos accepted and published in WildBird occurs during the first month of the issue date.

Rights: BowTie and its licensees purchase the non-exclusive rights for one North American edition of the magazine and one of each foreign language edition of the magazine.  The licenses granted are for the duration of copyright in the photos.  The licenses granted include all rights accorded under U.S. and foreign laws, including the rights of reproduction, distribution, syndication, display and creation of derivative works, in accordance with the license fees set forth in Paragraph 3.  Publisher is under no obligation to exercise any one or more of the above rights and reserves the right to reject the photos.

If you want to be considered for the photo needs’ waiting list, please send 20 images in the requested format and with contact sheets to:

WildBird/Freelance photos
3 Burroughs
Irvine CA 92618-2804

You’ll receive a reply after the annual review of the current photographers’ work.