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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 and cranes. Born in Fargo, North Dakota, 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, he enrolled at North Dakota State University to major in zoology. He then moved to Washington State 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 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 who invited him to consider a Ph.D. at Cornell University 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. 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.
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