Ian McLaren is professor emeritus at Dalhousie University. Born in Montreal, he studied biology at McGill and Yale, specializing in marine biology. He has been a frequent contributor to the Nova Scotia Bird Society’s quarterly, Now Nova Scotia Birds, and was a regional editor for North American Birds. In the 1980s, he coordinated the posthumous third edition of Robie Tufts’ Birds of Nova Scotia (1995). Since retirement, he has spent more time birding and publishing on avian research. In 2012, The American Birding Association awarded him the prestigious Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions in Regional Ornithology. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia.