As we assume the editorship of Current Ornithology, it seems useful to review the objectives of the series. We cannot improve on the state­ ments of our predecessors when they began their service as editors. In his preface to Volume 1 (1983), Richard F. Johnston wrote: The appearance of the first volume of a projected series is the occasion for comment on scope, aims, and genesis of the work. The scope of Current Or­ nithology is all of the biology of birds. Ornithology, as a whole-organism sci­ ence, is concerned with birds at every level of biological organization, from the molecular to the community, at least from the Jurassic to the present time, and over every scholarly discipline in which bird biology is done; to say this is merely to expand a dictionary definition of "ornithology. " The aim of the work, to be realized over several volumes, is to present reviews or position statements concerning the active fields of ornithological research. Dennis M. Power, who edited Volumes 6-12 (1989-1995), began his preface to Volume 6 (1989) as follows: This edited series has three principal goals. The first is to provide information in a relatively concise way for researchers needing an overview of specific disciplines. The second is to provide an update on specific schools of thought, bringing together ideas from colleagues whose works often appear in a variety of journals. And the third is to stimul&te and suggest directions for new re­ search.

1 Social Cognition: Are Primates Smarter Than Birds?.- 1. Preamble.- 2. Introduction.- 3. Social Learning: The Acquisition of New Stimulus Controls for Behavior.- 4. Social Learning. The Acquisition of New Motor Patterns.- 5. Tool Use and Its Acquisition.- 6. Cooperative Hunting.- 7. Complex Social Cognition.- 8. Communicative Behavior.- 9. Conclusions.- References.- 2 Predicting Cognitive Capacity from Natural History: Examples from four Species of Corvids.- 1. Introduction.- 2. General Problems and Approach.- 3. The Study of Cognitive Adaptations.- 4. The Comparative Study of Cognition.- 5. General Issues.- 6. Phylogenetic Considerations.- 7. Ontogenetic Considerations.- 8. Summary.- References.- 3 Assessing Body Condition in Birds.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Literature Survey of Body Condition Research.- 3. Methods of Assessing Condition.- 4. Conclusions.- Appendix: Literature Survey Summary.- References.- 4 Avian Chemical Defense.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Definitions and Overview.- 3. Chemical Defenses in Birds.- 4. Sources of Defensive Chemicals.- 5. Ecology of Chemical Defense.- 6. Evolution of Chemical Defense.- 7. Phenomena Related to Chemical Defense.- 8. Summary.- References.- 5 Past and Current Attempts to Evaluate the Role of Birds as Predators of Insect Pests in Temperate Agriculture.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Setting the Stage-A Brief History of the Rise and Decline of "Economic Ornithology".- 3. Birds as Predators of Pests.- 4. Factors Determining the Impact of Predation on Invertebrates by Birds.- 5. Encouraging Avian Predators in Agroecosystems.- 6. Summary and Conclusions.- References.- 6 An Evolutionary Approach to Offspring Desertion in Birds.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Distribution of Offspring Desertion.- 3. Models of Desertion.- 4. Desertion and ParentalCare.- 5. Timing of Desertion.- 6. Sex of Deserter.- 7. The Process of Desertion.- 8. Hormonal Mechanisms.- 9. Recommendations for Future Research.- 10. Summary.- References.