Many of us will have been personally affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, so it may seem insensitive to be concerned about the impact on wildlife when so many people died and so many more face an uncertain future. Accordingly, BirdLife (www.birdlife.net) delayed its first public assessment of the impact on the region's birds. On 6th January, BirdLife's Director, Dr Mike Rands, was relieved to confirm that no staff or volunteers appear to have been lost in the disaster even though `the events have obviously caused enormous trauma, shock and damage to communities, property, habitats and some wildlife'. Although it is too soon to make detailed assessments of how the region's birds might be affected, a preliminary study from BirdLife scientists highlighted a number of species and important areas that might suffer. No fewer than 27 Globally Threatened birds occur regularly in those parts of Asia potentially affected by the tsunami, while the area also holds three Endemic Bird Areas. Despite the wealth of biodiversity in the region, however, it is thought that few threatened species are likely to have been seriously affected by the direct effects of the tsunami, and no extinctions are predicted as a result. Surveys will be needed to confirm this, particularly in the Nicobar Islands, which have five endemics, including Nicobar Megapode Megapodius nicobariensis, which favours coastal forest. A further eight species are endemic to the Andaman Islands. It is likely that many coastal wetlands will have been affected by the huge inflow of salt