The Western Ghats range of hills, running close and parallel to the Arabian Sea along the western Peninsular India for about 1600 km from the south of Gujarat to Kanyakumari, covers an area of about 1,60,000 sq.km. This region harbours very rich flora and fauna and there are records of over 4,000 species of flowering plants (38% endemics). Western Ghats is among the 34 global biodiversity hotspots on account of exceptional plant endemism and serious levels of habitat degradation. The complex geography, wide variations in annual rainfall from 1000-6000 mm, and altitudinal decrease in temperature, coupled with anthropogenic factors, have produced a variety of vegetation types in the Western Ghats. While tropical evergreen forest is the natural climax vegetation of the more humid western slopes, along the rain-shadow region eastwards vegetation changes rapidly from semi-evergreen to moist and dry deciduous forests, the last one being characteristic of the semi-arid Deccan region as well. Lower temperature, especially in altitudes exceeding 1500 m, has produced a unique mosaic of montane ‘shola’ evergreen forests alternating with rolling grasslands, mainly in the Nilgiris and the Anamalais. All these types of natural vegetation are prone to or have already undergone degradations due to human impacts. The Western Ghats forms an important watershed for the entire peninsular India, being the source of 37 west flowing rivers and three major east flowing rivers and their numerous tributaries. It harbours very rich flora and fauna and there are records of over 4,000 species of flowering plants with 38% endemics, 330 butterflies with 11% endemics, 156 reptiles with 62% endemics, 508 birds with 4% endemics, 120 mammals with 12% endemics, 289 fishes with 41% endemics and 135 amphibians with 75% endemics (http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity/pubs/ces_tr/TR122/index.htm). The rich biodiversity coupled with higher endemism is due to the humid tropical climate, topographical and geological characteristics, and geographical isolation (Arabian Sea to the west and the semiarid Deccan Plateau to the east). The current issue discusses the avian diversity in Western Ghats.