Margaret Morse Nice Medal

The Margaret Morse Nice Medal is the premiere ornithological award bestowed by the Wilson Ornithological Society. The medal, established in 1997, honors a lifetime of contributions to ornithology.

The recipient is invited to review his or her contributions and their significance to ornithology and science in general as the opening Plenary lecture at the WOS Annual Meeting. The WOS also invites the recipient to publish the substance of those remarks in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology.

Medal Recipients

2022Chris Rimmer, Executive Director, Vermont Center for Ecostudies: “Bicknell’s Thrush: Scientific surprises and conservation connections across the hemisphere”
2021Ellen Ketterson, Professor, Department of Biology, Indiana University – Bloomington: “Long term research on an ordinary extraordinary songbird: the dark-eyed junco”
2020Bette Loiselle, Director of the Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) Program in the Center for Latin American Studies and Professor, Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Florida: “Three decades of studying Neotropical birds: lessons learned along the way”
2019Robert L. Curry, Professor, Department of Biology, Villanova University: “Transformation of familiar birds into model organisms: what chickadees can teach us”
2018Reed Bowman, Research Scientist, Archbold Biological Station: “The challenges of long-term research: getting the work done and keeping it relevant”
2017Frank R. Moore, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Southern Mississippi: “Stopover biology of migratory songbirds: challenges, consequences and connections” Published as Moore, F. R. 2018. Biology of landbird migrants: a stopover perspective. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130:1–12. doi: 10.1676/1559-4491-130.1.1
2016John C. Wingfield, Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California: “Nomads, pioneers and fugitives: on the move in a capricious world”
2015Erica H. Dunn, Environment Canada: “Bird observatories: Diversity and opportunity.” Published as Dunn, E. H. 2016. Bird observatories: an underutilized resource for migration study. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 128:691-703
2014Don Kroodsma, University of Massachusetts-Amherst: “Birdsong: the hour before dawn”
2013Edward Burtt, Jr., Ohio Wesleyan University: “From passion to science to the evolution of avian color.” Published as Burtt, E. H., Jr. 2015. From passion to science. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 127:167-180
2012Peter R. Grant & B. Rosemary Grant, Princeton University: “A long-term study of Darwin’s Finches.” Plenary lecture delivered at the 2013 WOS annual meeting, Williamsburg
2011Richard N. Conner, USDA-Forest Service (retired): “The ecology of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, by necessity a multidiscipline study”
2010Robert B. Payne & Laura Payne, University of Michigan: “Brood parasitism in cuckoos, cowbirds, and African finches”
2009Sidney A. Gauthreaux, Jr., Clemson University: “Bird movements in the atmosphere: discoveries from radar and visual Studies”
2008Jerome Jackson, Florida Gulf Coast University: “Thinking like a mountain, seeing like a woodpecker: behavioral ecology and conservation of woodpeckers”
2007Patricia L. Shwagmeyer & Douglas Mock, University of Oklahoma: “Not exactly your Nice sparrow.” Published as Mock, D. W., and P. L. Schwagmeyer. 2010. Not the Nice sparrow. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122:207-216
2006Gary Stiles, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia: “Ornithology in a troubled country: progress, problems, and recent work on nectar-feeding birds”
2005Bridget J. M. Stutchbury, York University, & Eugene S. Morton, Hemlock Hill Field Station: “Territoriality … beyond the temperate zone.” Published as Stutchbury, B. J. M., and E. S. Morton. 2008. Recent advances in the behavioral ecology of tropical birds” Wilson Journal of Ornithology 20:26-37
2004Stephen T. Emlen, Cornell University: “Birds ‘R’ us: chronicles of an avian anthropologist”
2003Robert E. Ricklefs, University of Missouri-St. Louis: “The cognitive face of avian life histories.” Published as Ricklefs, R. E. 2004. The cognitive face of avian life histories: the 2003 Margaret Morse Nice Lecture. Wilson Bulletin 116: 119-133 (PDF; requires BioOne subscription)
2002Richard T. Holmes, Dartmouth College: “Population change in migratory songbirds: insights from long-term studies in breeding and wintering areas”
2001Glen E. Woolfenden, Archbold Biological Station: “The behavior and ecology of the Florida Scrub-Jay: A 33-year perspective”
2000Susan M. Smith, Mount Holyoke College: “Behavioral studies of chickadees and other species”
1999Frances C. James, Florida State University: “Intraspecific variation in the sizes and shapes of birds.” Published as James, F. C. 2001. A research program in ecology and ecomorphology: the 1999 Margaret Morse Nice Lecture.” Wilson Bulletin 113: 140-163. (PDF; requires BioOne subscription)
1998Ellen Ketterson & Val Nolan, Jr., Indiana University: “Studying birds: one species at a time”
1997Elsie Collias & Nick Collias, University of California, Los Angeles: “Seeking to understand the living bird.” Published as Collias, E., and N. Collias. 1998. Seeking to understand the living bird.” Wilson Bulletin 110: 28-44 (PDF)