The International Conference on Palearctic Steppe Birds (ICPSB 2025) and its organizing committee wish to dedicate this meeting to our friend, colleague, and pioneer in the study of steppe birds, Francisco “Quico” Suárez, who passed away in 2010—now fifteen years ago.

Quico Suárez was an extraordinary ecologist and a renowned environmental sciences professional, a professor in the Department of Ecology at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and a mentor to numerous researchers who continue his scientific legacy to this day. After earning his degree in Biology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, he embarked on a brief yet intense and fruitful career as an environmental impact assessment professional—a field in which, as in many other aspects of his career, he was a pioneer in Europe. In parallel, he nurtured an early passion for the steppes and their birds—a flame kindled during his university studies—which first culminated in his doctoral thesis on the Western Black-eared Wheatear (Oenanthe hispanica). Moreover, he remained actively engaged in the study of his favourite species, the Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti), becoming the foremost expert and advocate.

Upon joining the Department of Ecology at UAM, Quico expanded his commitments to include academic duties, the supervision of doctoral theses, and the leadership of numerous research projects—many focused on the ecology and conservation of open ecosystems such as grasslands, herbaceous steppes (including cereal) and shrublands, and their associated fauna. His pioneering work on the Iberian steppes and their birds not only broke new ground but continues to be cited in the most recent scientific literature. Among his contributions are not only dozens of publications in scientific journals but also several seminal books and book chapters that are fundamental references for understanding the dynamics of steppe habitats and birds in Spain. Notable examples include Las estepas ibéricas (1992), Las alondras de España peninsular (2009), and La alondra ricotí (2010), which still are reference texts. But the reach of Quico’s work on steppes was also international. The chapter he led for the volume Farming and Birds in Europe: The common Agricultural Policy and its Implications for Bird Conservation, entitled Farming in the drylands of Spain: birds of the pseudosteppes stands as a benchmark for understanding the historical changes in the management of Iberian cereal steppes, the effects of the Common Agricultural Policy, and the ensuing consequences for our steppe birds. Equally indispensable as international reference is the chapter that, alongside Tomás Santos, he wrote for the volume Ecology and Conservation of Steppe-Land Birds about the Biogeography and population trends of Iberian steppe birds, a comprehensive review still referred-to in international literature. 

Quico Suárez effortlessly combined his passions—steppes and their birds, mushrooms, friendships, cuisine, and science, both fundamental and that contributing to environmental management, land planning and species conservation. His zest for life was contagious, and he imparted this enthusiasm to all who were fortunate enough to know him. The profound impact he left on students, colleagues, scientists from around the world, professionals—in short, on his friends—remains alive as we continue to remember his commanding personality, generosity, infectious joy, and boundless imagination.

Quico was one of the driving forces of the last conference on steppe birds held in 2004 in Lleida, and we know that more than twenty years later he would be here in Ciudad Real, celebrating ICPSB 2025—lamenting the tragic fate of many of the species he cherished, yet sustaining an enduring optimism for their future. We will do everything possible to follow the path he paved.