These days, most birders and ornithologists probably have a pretty good feel for what published breeding bird atlases should look like. After all, the first North American atlas projects were conducted more than a quarter-century ago, with most states and provinces having initiated or completed one or more atlases during the past decade or so. The protocol for North American breeding bird atlases is well established and widely agreed upon, and there are fairly uniform (although not formally codified) standards for publishing any atlas.