Evaluation and recommendations for greater accessibility of colour figures in ornithology

People who are colour-blind or have some form of colour vision deficiency form an invisible minority and scientists should strive to be as inclusive as possible. We reviewed 2873 figures published in 2019 from 1031 scientific papers in 27 ornithological journals to determine those that were colour-blind compatible, and those that were black-and-white printer friendly. About 26% of the published figures were in colour, and while most were colour-blind compatible, only similar to 60% of them were black-and-white printer friendly. Ensuring figures in all forms of scientific communication can be interpreted by readers who are colour-blind, and can be printed in black-and-white will improve the accessibility of ornithological research.

Automated summary

People with color vision deficiency are an invisible minority, and efforts should be made to be inclusive in scientific research. A study found that while most color images are color-blind compatible, only around 60% are print-friendly in black-and-white, highlighting the importance of ensuring accessibility for readers with color blindness.