Mike Parr joined American Bird Conservancy in 1996 after graduating from the University of East Anglia, UK, and working for BirdLife International. He has coauthored several books including: Parrots - A Guide to the Parrots of the World, Important Bird Areas in the United States, and The American Bird Conservancy Guide to Bird Conservation, along with numerous articles and papers. He is Chair of the Alliance for Zero Extinction and a member of the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative. His favorite bird is the Black Rail.