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FOREWORD

Defining avifaunal boundaries for the Sierra Nevada is not an easy task. The long, rolling hills west of the crest and the steep eastern escarpment are obvious features in the center of the range, but as the mountainous highlands dwindle in southern California and vaguely become the Cascades in the north, drawing appropriate lines becomes more difficult. The authors of this book have done a masterful job in this regard by including nearby Great Basin habitats at the base of the Sierra on the East Side.

The species accounts are thorough and scholarly. Each contains etymology (the origin of the bird’s common and scientific names), and expansive, very informative sections on natural history, status, and distribution. Population dynamics and changes in distribution are clearly presented. This was made possible by the authors’ careful scrutiny of Christmas Bird Count, Breeding Bird Survey, and eBird data. I have birded frequently in all the Sierra special habitats for more than forty years and still learn something new from each account. Although this entirely new book is not a field guide that rehashes identification clues, the splendid, color paintings of each species (presented on-page with each species account) by Keith Hansen should leave no one wondering what kind of bird he or she has seen. The abundance of illustrations and precision of every detail is simply amazing. How does he do that?

John Muir, following an eloquent but spirited discussion of the Water Ouzel (American Dipper), said: “And so I might go on, writing words, words, words; but to what purpose? Go see him [the ouzel] and love him, and through him as through a window look into Nature’s warm heart.” So get out there and up there, but go with this book in your pack or car. If you are already a birder, you will see in new light, but if you are new to the magic and wonder of birds, beware—your life may change in amazing ways. Sharper long-distance vision, unthinkable intellectual challenges, and the urge to leave work and go bird the mountains are but some of the more common maladies.

RICH STALLCUP (1944–2012),

PRBO CONSERVATION SCIENCE