It is hard to imagine a more important inaugural publication for a series titled Studies of Western Birds. As a contribution to conservation of one huge state’s avian diversity, it contributes to the future of a substantial portion of western North America’s avian heritage. Western Field Ornithologists and the California Department of Fish and Game can take pride in an obviously immense effort. It is light-years beyond what J. V. Remsen Jr. could have envisioned at the time of his seminal monograph, “Bird Species of Special Concern in California,” published by the Department of Fish and Game in 1978.