Jon Dunn started looking at birds at age eight, the spark being an adult male Hooded Oriole that was in his yard in the Los Angeles area in 1962. By age 11 he was hooked on birding and by 21 he was writing about birds, their identification and distribution. Jon has written (with Kimball L. Garrett) Birds of Southern California, Status and Distribution (1981) and Warblers (1997) and was either Chief Consultant or lead author for all seven editions of the National Geographic’s Field Guide to the Birds of North America, the latter four editions with Jonathan Alderfer as a co-author. Jon has been a leader for Wings Birdwatching Tours for 45 years and leads extensively in North America, along with international trips to Thailand and Cuba. Jon has served as President of Western Field Ornithologists and since 2000 has served on the AOS Committee on Nomenclature and Taxonomy. He was a member of the California Bird Records Committee for 30 years and was a former chair of the ABA Checklist Committee. Beyond birds Jon has a keen interest in history and the music and poetry of Leonard Cohen.