Paul Austin Johnsgard is an ornithologist, artist and emeritus professor at the University of Nebraska. His works include nearly fifty books including several monographs, principally about the waterfowl

Waterfowl

Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....

 and cranes

Crane (bird)

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...

. Born in Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County. In 2010, its population was 105,549, and it had an estimated metropolitan population of 208,777...

, he was introduced to the study of birds by a distant cousin who was a game warden. He spent these early years taking part in duck counts. After high school and junior college at Wahpeton

Wahpeton, North Dakota

The first European explorer in the area was Jonathan Carver in 1767. He explored and mapped the Northwest at the request of Major Robert Rogers, commander of Fort Michilimackinac, the British fort at Mackinaw City, Michigan, which protected the passage between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron...

, he enrolled at North Dakota State University

North Dakota State University

North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences, more commonly known as North Dakota State University , is a public university in Fargo, North Dakota. NDSU has about 14,000 students and it is the largest university in North Dakota based on full time students and land size...

 to major in zoology. He then moved to Washington State University

Washington State University

Washington State University is a public research university based in Pullman, Washington, in the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1890, WSU is the state's original and largest land-grant university...

 for his masters degree, encouraged by a professor who suggested that he could have a career in ornithology. His master's study was on the impact of the construction of O'Sullivan Dam

O'Sullivan Dam

O'Sullivan Dam, one of the larger earthfill dams in the United States , is on Crab Creek in the U.S. state of Washington, about 45 km south of Ephrata and 25 km south of Moses Lake...

 to wetland habitats. Apart from the data collected and his interpretation, it included his pen sketches. This was published in The Condor and the article attracted the attention of Charles Sibley

Charles Sibley

Charles Gald Sibley was an American ornithologist and molecular biologist. He had an immense influence on the scientific classification of birds, and the work that Sibley initiated has substantially altered our understanding of the evolutionary history of modern birds.Sibley's taxonomy has been a...

 who invited him to consider a Ph.D. at Cornell University

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 with him. His Ph.D. work was on the phylogeny of six ducks, after which he moved to England at the Wildfowl Trust at Gloucestershire founded by Sir Peter Scott

Peter Scott

Sir Peter Markham Scott, CH, CBE, DSC and Bar, MID, FRS, FZS, was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer and sportsman....

. After the course of two years, he produced his first book, the Handbook of Waterfowl Behaviour published by Cornell University in 1965. He is considered one of the most prolific authors of ornithology books.

Sources

• Farrar, J. 1993. Paul Johnsgard, Nebraska’s Birdman. Nebraskaland 71(2): 38-47.
• Johnsgard, Paul. 2010. My life in biology. Nebraska Bird Review 78(3):103-120.
• Klucas, G. 2002. A beautiful mind. Nebraska Magazine. Summer, 2002. pp. 24-27.
• Miles, L. 1993. Paul Johnsgard and the Harmony of Nature. Pp. 91-93, in A. Jenkins (ed.), The Platte River: An Atlas of the Big Bend Region. Univ. Nebr. Kearney. 194 pp.
• Scully, M. G. 2001. Heeding the call of sandhill cranes. Chronicle of Higher Educ. 47(30:): B-17.

External links

• Downloadable publications by Johnsgard
• Vita and biography
• Audubon award
• Profile

Other Major Publications

• Grouse and Quails of North America. 1973.
• The Plovers, Sandpipers and Snipes of the World.
• The Grouse of the World. 1983.
• The Hummingbirds of North America. 1983, 2nd. ed.1997.
• The Platte: Channels in Time. 1984, 2nd ed.
• The Pheasants of the World. 1986. 2nd. ed. 1999, 2nd. ed. 1999.
• Diving Birds of North America. 1987.
• The Quails, Partridges and Francolins of the World. 1988.
• North American Owls: Biology and Natural History. 1988. 2nd. ed. 2002.
• Hawks, Eagles and Falcons of North America: Biology and Natural History. 1990. Bustards, Hemipodes and Sandgrouse: Birds of Dry Places. 1991.
• Cormorants, Darters and Pelicans of the World. 1993.
• Arena Birds: Sexual Selection and Behavior. 1994
• This Fragile Land: A Natural History of the Nebraska Sandhills. 1995.
• Ruddy Ducks and other Stifftails: Their Behavior and Biology. 1996 (With M. Carbonell)
• The Avian Brood Parasites: Deception at the Nest. 1997.
• Trogons and Quetzals of the World. 2000.
• Prairie Birds: Fragile Splendor in the Great Plains. 2001.
• The Nature of Nebraska: Ecology and Biodiversity. 2001.
• Grassland Grouse and their Conservation. 2002.
• Great Wildlife of the Great Plains. 2003.
• Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains: A Natural History. 2003.
• Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass Prairie. 2004.
• The Niobrara: A River Running Through Time. 2007.
• Ancient Voices over America’s Wetlands: The Sandhill and Whooping Cranes. 2011.