About the author

John Deshler is a wildlife biologist, owl researcher, and “the man in the brown cap”. He has studied Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) nesting ecology in Forest Park since 2007, exploring relationships between the species’ reproduction, diet, body size, timing of nesting, and habitat. He recently wrote the definitive reference on the species’ natural history for Cornell University’s Birds Of The World online resource. The Pygmy-Owls of Forest Park is his first novel. He is currently investigating pygmy-owl taxonomy by comparing vocal, genetic, body size, and geographic variation within the G. gnoma subspecies complex and its close relatives. John has an MS in biology from Portland State University and a BS in computer science from Murray State University. He holds a master banding permit from the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory and various state permits. For several years, he worked as a wildlife biologist in the Bull Run Watershed on the Mount Hood National Forest. Prior to his work on pygmy-owls and other wildlife, John was a consultant and developer of geographic information systems (GIS) for large utility companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe. John was born near Chicago and raised in Paducah, Kentucky.  He has lived in Portland, Oregon since 2001.