For over a century, the Wilson Ornithological Society has published a scholarly journal with form and content accessible to both professional and amateur ornithologists. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, known as The Wilson Bulletin until 2005, is a quarterly, peer-reviewed publication consisting of major articles and short communications based on original studies of birds, reviews of new bird books, as well as ornithological news and history and the proceedings of the annual meetings of the Society. Although most articles originate from work conducted in the western hemisphere, the geographic coverage of the journal is global. Principal topics of coverage include bird behavior and physiology, species and community ecology, evolution, biogeography, and conservation. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology is internationally recognized as an important, major journal of ornithology.

Through an endowment from the late George Miksch Sutton, each issue includes a full color frontispiece. Each volume consists of approximately 800 pages. The Edwards Prize is given annually for the best major article published during the previous year. The Storrs Olson Prize is given annually for the best book review published in the previous year.

The Wilson Journal of Ornithology was formerly named the Wilson Bulletin.