1 His favorite breed of poultry is a Belgian bearded d’Uccle, a bantam breed of chicken “with really funky personalities.”

2 As a child, he got his first backyard chickens when he was in the third grade. But he doesn’t own any now, to prevent infection transmission on the large commercial farms he visits.

3 A nature lover, he relaxes by hiking with his children. “I don’t know that they find it as fascinating as I do,” he joked.

4 He is drawn to birds by their sense of mystery. He helped care for flocks of sandhill cranes at the International Crane Foundation, based in Wisconsin.

5 While doing daily tasks, he wore a crane costume so that birds would not become habituated to the presence of humans.