Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. (October 30, 1907 – December 11, 2001) was an American naturalist, author and filmmaker, president of the

Wilson Ornithological Society The Wilson Ornithological Society (WOS) is an ornithology, ornithological organization that was formally established in 1886 as the Wilson Ornithological Chapter of the Agassiz Association. It is based at the Museum of Zoology, University of Michig ...

from 1948 to 1950, a member of the board of directors of the

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organ ...

from 1955 to 1974, and a Life Fellow of the

American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its m ...

Early life

Born October 30, 1907, in

Belgrade, Maine Belgrade is a town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. Its population was 3,250 at the 2020 census. However, its population approximately doubles during the summer months as part-year residents return to seasonal camps on the shores of Gre ...

, Pettingill attended

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

, where he developed an interest in

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

. Studying under

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Alfred O. Gross, Pettingill conducted studies of the last three

heath hen The heath hen (''Tympanuchus cupido cupido'') is an extinct subspecies of the greater prairie chicken (''Tympanuchus cupido''), a large North American bird in the grouse family. It became extinct in 1932. Heath hens lived in the scrubby heath ...

s on

Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...

in 1927 with Gross and

Thornton Burgess Thornton Waldo Burgess (January 17, 1874 – June 5, 1965) was an American conservationist and author of children's stories. He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man, after his newspaper column ''Bedtime Stories''. By the time he retir ...

. In 1928, Pettingill enrolled in the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, then attended

graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

starting in 1930 – joining the AOU in the same year – where he conducted a PhD dissertation on the

American woodcock The American woodcock (''Scolopax minor''), sometimes colloquially referred to as the timberdoodle, the bogsucker, the hokumpoke, and the Labrador twister, is a small shorebird species found primarily in the eastern half of North America. Woodcoc ...

Career

Appointed a delegate to the 12th and 14th

International Ornithological Congress International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

es, Pettingill was appointed Director of the

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuar ...

in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1973, and provided footage for four

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

nature films, including the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

-winning ''

The Vanishing Prairie ''The Vanishing Prairie'' is a 1954 American documentary film directed by James Algar and released by Walt Disney Productions. The theme music was given a set of lyrics by Hazel "Gil" George. It was rechristened as "Pioneer's Prayer" in ''Westw ...

'', in addition to making several ornithological films of his own, including works on

albatross Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds related to the procellariids, storm petrels, and diving petrels in the order Procellariiformes (the tubenoses). They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacifi ...

es,

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

s, and the wildlife of island nations, which often aired as part of Audubon Screen Tours. Tenured at

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

for 17 years, Pettingill taught at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 years. Pettingill was awarded

birding Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...

's highest honor, the

Ludlow Griscom Award The Ludlow Griscom Award for Outstanding Contributions in Regional Ornithology is an award bestowed by the American Birding Association upon individuals who are determined to have "dramatically advanced the state of ornithological knowledge for a pa ...

, in 1982, and also received Cornell's Arthur A. Allen Medal in 1974, and the

Eisenmann Medal The Eisenmann Medal is awarded by the Linnaean Society of New York (LSNY) in recognition of the recipient's ornithological excellence and encouragement of amateur efforts in ornithology and birding. The medal commemorates the ornithologist and pro ...

in 1985. Holding three honorary doctorates in science, Pettingill appeared on both ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

'' and '' To Tell the Truth''.

Death

Pettingill died December 11, 2001, in

Bedford, Texas Bedford is a city located in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, in the "Mid-Cities" area between Dallas and Fort Worth. It is a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. The population was 46,979 at the 2010 census. Bedford is part of the Hurst-Euless-Bedf ...

, aged 94.

Works

;Books * ''Ornithology in Laboratory and Field'', 1939 (2nd edition, 1946; 3rd edition, 1956; 4th edition, 1970; 5th edition, 1985)
2013 pbk reprint of 4th edition
* ''A Guide to Finding Birds East of the Mississippi'', 1951 * ''A Guide to Finding Birds West of the Mississippi'', 1953 * ''Enjoying Maine Birds'', 1960 * ''Enjoying Birds in Upstate New York'', 1963 * ''Enjoying Birds around New York City'', 1966 * ''The Audubon Illustrated handbook of American Birds'', editor-in-chief, 1968. * ''The Bird Watcher's America'', editor, 1974 * ''Another Penguin Summer'', 1975 * ''My Way to Ornithology'', 1992 ;Films * ''Nature's Half Acre'', 1951 * ''Water Birds'', 1952 * ''The Vanishing Prairie'', 1954 * ''Islands of the Sea'', 1960

Notes

References

External links

* * (On pages 1010–1011 Pettingill gives a list of 25 recommended books.) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pettingill, Olin Sewall Jr. 1907 births 2001 deaths People from Belgrade, Maine American documentary filmmakers American ornithological writers American male non-fiction writers University of Michigan alumni Bowdoin College alumni Cornell University alumni Carleton College faculty 20th-century American zoologists 20th-century American male writers