Western Birds, the flagship publication of Western Field Ornithologists, promotes the study, appreciation and protection of birds in the western North America. We solicit papers that contribute significantly to the scientific literature and that are useful and accessible to professional and amateur field ornithologists. The journal welcomes contributions from professional and amateur scientists alike. Appropriate topics include distribution, migration, status, identification, geographic variation, conservation, behavior, ecology, population dynamics, habitat requirements, the effects of pollution, and techniques for censusing, sound recording, and photographing birds in the field. Papers of general interest will be considered regardless of their geographic origin, but particularly desired are reports of studies done in or bearing on the Rocky Mountain and Pacific states and provinces, including Alaska and Hawai'i, western Texas, northwestern Mexico, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean.