Background
Johnsgard was born on June 28, 1931, in Christine, North Dakota, United States; the son of Alfred Bernard and Yvonne Marguerite (Morgan) Johnsgard.
(A comprehensive reference discusses all aspects of raptor...)
A comprehensive reference discusses all aspects of raptors, including their biology, habitat, and behavior, and offers identification information
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0874746825/?tag=2022091-20
1990
(Is it generally safe to walk by dragon weyrs on sunny day...)
Is it generally safe to walk by dragon weyrs on sunny days? Do dragons really lay golden eggs? Do dragon teeth have any medicinal value? And what about unicorns: Do some rare ones have two horns, and when aren't unicorns white? What is a unicorn "sneeze call," and what exactly is the best way to capture a unicorn, anyway? Find the answers to these and other questions in this charming and carefully researched book that presents the first scientific look at two of the earth's most mysterious and elusive creatures. From the evolution and anatomy of dragons and unicorns to their own special skills (fire-breathing in dragons, reliable virgin detection in unicorns), this unique book of whimsical zoology, complete with drawings, will delight and enchant any modern reader.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0312084994/?tag=2022091-20
1992
(The Nebraska Sandhills is the largest area of sand dunes ...)
The Nebraska Sandhills is the largest area of sand dunes in the western hemisphere, covering an area about as large as Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island combined. Unlike most dunes, the Sandhills region supports an astonishing variety of wildlife. Sixty million years ago the area lay submerged in a vast inland sea. As the land lifted and the waters receded, the sandhills were formed, built upon a sandy floor above a sandy basement. Paul A. Johnsgard’s appreciation for the region includes its evolution, a process that continues today making a very special place, patiently shaped by water, wind, and time. Sometimes 450 feet higher than their sloping valleys, the hills themselves are almost entirely covered with plants that manage to survive on an unstable substrate and in a climate of merciless heat and cold. They provide homes and resting places for rare species and sustain the livelihoods of a remarkable variety of people. Though firmly established in science, this book is an extended love letter to the Sandhills region and its people, plants, and animals. Johnsgard is now in his third decade of research in the Sandhills. This Fragile Land lets others see what he sees, a land with a fascinating range of geological, biological, and ecological vistas.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803225784/?tag=2022091-20
1995
(Of all birdgroups, none is more closely associated with t...)
Of all birdgroups, none is more closely associated with the world's tropical forests than trogons and quetzals. With shimmering golden-green feathers and long ornamental tail coverts, Central America's resplendent quetzal often has been called the world's most beautiful bird. Other New World as well as African trogonids also are iridescent and brightly pigmented, while red or reddish brown hues predominate in Asian species. Since deforestation and fires have ravaged many of the reclusive group's prime habitats, ornithologists and conservationists may soon be unable to study many of the world's trogonids in their native environments. Beautifully illustrated with color plates and line drawings, this comprehensive review of trogons and quetzals - the first to be published in more than 150 years - covers all thirty-nine extant species. The book includes detailed species accounts, range maps, and identification keys as well as a chapter that discusses comparative biology in terms of evolution, anatomy and morphology, behavior, ecology, breeding biology, and populations. Forty hand-colored plates -- most by the renowned nineteenth-century illustrator John Gould - depict adults of both sexes; nineteen line drawings by author Paul Johnsgard illustrate behavior and anatomy. The book also includes more than three hundred bibliographic references. Despite their beauty and renown among birders, little has been previously published about the biology of many trogon and quetzal species. This up-to-date survey will serve as a valuable reference for ornithologists, conservationists, aviculturalists, and birdwatchers worldwide.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1560983884/?tag=2022091-20
2000
(Thundering herds of bison. Burrowing prairie dogs. Soarin...)
Thundering herds of bison. Burrowing prairie dogs. Soaring golden eagles. These are among the wildlife who will always be linked with the Great Plains, and many can still be seen in their natural habitats. Now there is a single-volume resource that provides an instructive and entertaining commentary on their lives. Paul Johnsgard is a leading authority on the ecology of the Great Plains and author of more than forty books in natural history. With Great Wildlife of the Great Plains, he has written the first overview of the region's native fauna, a book geared to amateur naturalists and general readers who live in or visit America's vast central expanses. Choosing from the nearly 600 terrestrial vertebrates found on the Great Plains, Johnsgard focuses on the ecology, behavior, and life histories of 121 notable species that people are most likely to encounter when traveling in the region. He has selected characteristic breeding birds, typical mammals, and conspicuous amphibians and reptiles—as well as additional species of conservation importance, animals of charismatic interest, and selected transients. The book is organized around ten distinct biotic communities, from the different varieties of native prairies to woodlands and wetlands, so that human visitors to those habitats can be on the watch for wildlife most often encountered there. Here are box turtles in the Sandhills grasslands and roadrunners in the shrubsteppes—and coyotes nearly everywhere—and here is Paul Johnsgard to tell us how they go about their lives. Johnsgard's pictorial prose calls to the reader's attention all of the subtleties of geography and life forms associated with these varied ecosystems. More than seventy maps and illustrations enhance his text. Whether commenting on the feeding and nesting habits of the cuckoo, philosophizing on the aromatic qualities of skunks from a closer range than most of us would dare, or simply celebrating the zigzag hop of the jumping mouse, Johnsgard brings to the page the sharp eye of one who has studied these animals for years and is familiar with their every action. Great Wildlife of the Great Plains is a book with which to travel and from which to learn-a book that speaks to the inner naturalist in every citizen of the Plains.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0700612246/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(This book by the renowned naturalist and writer Paul A. J...)
This book by the renowned naturalist and writer Paul A. Johnsgard tells the complex biological and environmental story of the western Great Plains under the black-tailed prairie dog’s reign—and then under a brief but devastating century of human dominion. An introduction to the ecosystem of the shortgrass prairie, Prairie Dog Empire describes in clear and detailed terms the habitat and habits of black-tailed prairie dogs; their subsistence, seasonal behavior, and the makeup of their vast colonies; and the ways in which their “towns” transform the surrounding terrain—for better or for worse. Johnsgard recounts how this terrain has in turn been transformed over the past century by the destruction of prairie dogs and their grassland habitats. This book also offers a rare and invaluable close-up view of the rich history and threatened future of the creature once considered the “keystone” species of the western plains. Included are maps, drawings, and listings of more than two hundred natural grassland preserves where many of the region’s native plants and animals may still be seen and studied.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803226047/?tag=2022091-20
2005
(Although its history is etched on canyon walls reaching b...)
Although its history is etched on canyon walls reaching back twenty million years, the Niobrara is very much a river of today. Stretching 535 miles from its headwaters to the Missouri River, it is one of Nebraska’s least altered waterways and is designated as a national scenic river. Its waterfalls and wildlife make it a haven for outdoor enthusiasts, but pressures from development still threaten its scenic and ecological wonders. This first book-length study of the Niobrara is a comprehensive look at an ecological treasure. Paul A. Johnsgard reviews the river’s history from its geologic past through prehistoric settlement to the present and highlights its historical and biological features. Writing from this crossroads of eastern and western species, Johnsgard also describes the Niobrara’s varied plants and animals, providing extensive information on bird populations. He offers portraits of sixteen species of special conservation concern, such as the black-tailed prairie dog and the olive-backed pocket mouse. Drawings by Johnsgard, information tables on various species, plus site lists make the book an invaluable reference. It conveys the Niobrara’s value as a recreational and scientific resource to help visitors better appreciate this riparian paradise while offering specialists an unimpeachable guide to its scientific riches. The Niobrara includes chapters by Jon Farrar and Duane Gudgel.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803259816/?tag=2022091-20
2007
(Driving west from Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska, Paul...)
Driving west from Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska, Paul A. Johnsgard remarks, is like driving backward in time. “I suspect,” he says, “that the migrating cranes of a pre–ice age period some ten million years ago would fully understand every nuance of the crane conversation going on today along the Platte.” Johnsgard has spent nearly a half century observing cranes, from a yearly foray to Nebraska’s Platte River valley to see the spring migration, to pilgrimages to the birds’ wintering grounds in Arizona and nesting territory in Alaska. In this book he draws from his own extensive experience as well as the latest science to offer a richly detailed and deeply felt account of the ecology of sandhill and whooping cranes and the wetlands in which they live. Incorporating current information on changing migration patterns, population trends, and breeding ranges, Johnsgard explains the life cycle of the crane, as well as the significance of these species to our natural world. He also writes frankly of the uncertain future of these majestic birds, as cranes and their habitats face the effects of climate change and increasing human population pressures. Illustrated with the author’s own ink drawings and containing a detailed guide to crane-viewing sites in the United States and Canada, this book is at once an invaluable reference and an eloquent testimony to how much these birds truly mean.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0803234961/?tag=2022091-20
2011
(There are eight currently recognized species of North Ame...)
There are eight currently recognized species of North American geese: emperor, greater white-fronted, snow, Ross's, Canada and cackling, barnacle, and brant geese. This book describes each species' geographic range and subspecies, its identification traits, weights and measurements, and criteria for its age and sex determination. Ecological and behavioral information includes each species' breeding and wintering habitats, its foods and foraging behavior, its local and long distance movements, and its relationships with other species. Reproductive information includes each species' age of maturity, pair-bond pattern, pair-forming behaviors, usual clutch sizes and incubation periods, brooding behavior, and postbreeding behavior. Mortality sources and rates of egg, young, and adult losses are summarized, and the past and current populations of all species are estimated. The book includes 8 maps, 21 line drawings, 28 photographs by the author, and more than 700 literature citations.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609620941/?tag=2022091-20
2016
(With Paul A. Johnsgard, we follow the migration of the sa...)
With Paul A. Johnsgard, we follow the migration of the sandhill cranes from the American Southwest to their Alaskan breeding grounds and back again, an annual pattern that has persisted over millions of years. By selecting four historic time frames of the migration between 1860 and 1980, Johnsgard illustrates how humans have influenced the flocks and how different American cultures have variously responded to the birds and perceived their value. Each section focuses on the interactions between children of four different American cultures and sandhill cranes, triggered by events occurring during the annual life cycle of the cranes. The story is enriched by the author’s exquisite illustrations, by Zuni prayers, and by Inuit and Pueblo legends. With a new preface and afterword and a new gallery of photographs by the author, Those of the Gray Wind is a classic story of a timeless ritual that can be enjoyed for generations to come.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1496201574/?tag=2022091-20
2017
biologist educator ornithologist
Johnsgard was born on June 28, 1931, in Christine, North Dakota, United States; the son of Alfred Bernard and Yvonne Marguerite (Morgan) Johnsgard.
Johnsgard received a Bachelor of Science degree from North Dakota State University in 1953. Three years later he was given a Master of Science degree from Washington State University. In 1959, Paul earned his Doctor of Philosophy degree at Cornell University.
Johnsgard began his career as a postdoctoral fellow at Bristol University in 1959. Two years later he became an instructor of zoology department at the University of Nebraska. Then in 1962 Paul took a position of an assistant professor at the same university. He was appointed an associate professor at that university in 1965.
Three years later Johnsgard held the position of a professor at School of Biological Sciences of the University of Nebraska. He worked as a foundation regents professor at that school from 1980 to 2001. Since 2001 Paul has been foundation regents professor emeritus at School of Biological Sciences of the University of Nebraska.
(Is it generally safe to walk by dragon weyrs on sunny day...)
1992(The Nebraska Sandhills is the largest area of sand dunes ...)
1995(There are eight currently recognized species of North Ame...)
2016(A comprehensive reference discusses all aspects of raptor...)
1990(Although its history is etched on canyon walls reaching b...)
2007(Of all birdgroups, none is more closely associated with t...)
2000(Driving west from Lincoln to Grand Island, Nebraska, Paul...)
2011(This book by the renowned naturalist and writer Paul A. J...)
2005(Thundering herds of bison. Burrowing prairie dogs. Soarin...)
2003(With Paul A. Johnsgard, we follow the migration of the sa...)
2017Paul is a member of American Ornithological Union, Nebraska Ornithologists Union, Wilson Ornithological Society and Cooper Ornithological Society.
On June 25, 1956 Paul Johnsgard married Lois Miriam Lampe. They have 4 children.