Olson Prize

The Olson Prize, first awarded by the Wilson Ornithological Society in 2009, recognizes the best book review published in each volume of The Wilson Journal of Ornithology and is named in honor of Storrs L. Olson (1944–2021), a prolific writer of witty, erudite book reviews for the WJO and other bird journals. The Olson Prize-winning review is chosen by a panel comprised of the Book Review Editor of the WJO and the authors of the two previous award-winning reviews. It consists of a plaque presented at the annual meeting of the WOS following completion of each volume of the journal.

Award Recipients

2021Joseph R. Jehl, Jr.Review of The Red-necked Grebe – a Monograph of a Vociferous Inhabitant of Marshy Lakes by Jan Johan Vlug. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 132:214-215
2020Mary LeCroyReview of Contributions to the History of Australasian Ornithology, Volume III by William E. Davis Jr., Walter E. Boles, and Harry F. Recher. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 131:212-218
2019Pamela RasmussenReview of The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130:836-837
2018Kara L. LefevreReview of The New Neotropical Companion by John Kricher. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 129:653-655
2017Frank A. StabileReview of Gods of the Morning: A Bird’s-Eye View of a Changing World by John Lister-Kaye. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 128:211-212
2016Donald C. DearbornReview of The Book of Eggs: A Life-Size Guide to the Eggs of Six Hundred of the World’s Bird Species by Mark E. Hauber. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 127:161-163
2015Evgeny A. Bragin, Sergei L. Sklyarenko, and Todd E. KatznerReview of Birds of Central Asia by Raffael Ayé, Manuel Schweizer, and Tobias Roth. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 126:614-616
2014Robert H. DayReview of Petrels, Albatrosses & Storm Petrels of North America: A Photographic Guide by Steve N. G. Howell. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 125:681-682
2013Ellen PaulReview of The Feathery Tribe by Daniel Lewis. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 124:829-832
2012Gregory B. P. DaviesReview of What Were They Thinking? Is Population Ecology a Science? Papers, Critiques, Rebuttals, and Philosophy by Bertram G. Murray, Jr. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123:850-852
2011Storrs L. OlsonReview of The Curse of the Labrador Duck: My Obsessive Quest to the Edge of Extinction by Glen Chilton. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 122:196-197
2010Richard C. BanksReview of Evolution and Taxonomy of White-Cheeked Geese by Bertin W. Anderson. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 121:658-660
2009Storrs L. OlsonReview of The Meinertzhagen Mystery: The Life and Legend of a Colossal Fraud by Brian Garfield. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120:917-920