In the Preface to his volume on Ecophysiology of the Camelidae and Desert Ruminants in this series, Trevor Wilson mentions his hesitation at the invitation from John Cloudsley-Thompson to write the book, because he had been out of direct touch with desert biology for some years. My response to John's invitation to write Ecophysiology of Desert Birds was much the same, and for the same reasons. However, with his encouragement and, taking account of the fact that a colleague of mine who is much better suited to do the job had turned it down because of pressure of work, I accepted the challenge...