In grateful remembrance: Allan J. Baker, 1943–2014

On 20 November 2014, suddenly and unexpectedly, our worldwide shorebird community lost one of its greatest minds. Still in his post of 42 years as Senior Curator of Ornithology at the Royal Ontario Museum (recently retired from the position of Head and Vice President of its Department of Natural History), and yet full of an unrelenting lust for life and scientific adventure, Allan lost a brief battle with an intestinal disorder. He was preparing for another expedition to the rufa knots’ southernmost non-breeding grounds, and was on the verge of various scientific breakthroughs. All of a sudden the ones that worked with him closely are left to our own devices, without his vision, encouragement and support, without his ‘grumpy frown’ and his sparkling mischievous humour.

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