| Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | October 30, 1907 |
| Birth Place: | Belgrade, Maine, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Bedford, Texas, U.S. |
| Fields: | Biology |
| Workplaces: | Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology |
| Alma Mater: | Bowdoin College Cornell University University of Michigan |
| Known For: | Ornithology |
| Awards: | Ludlow Griscom Award, Eisenmann Medal |
Olin Sewall Pettingill Jr. (October 30, 1907 – December 11, 2001) was an American naturalist, author and filmmaker, president of the Wilson Ornithological Society from 1948 to 1950,[1] a member of the board of directors of the National Audubon Society from 1955 to 1974, and a Life Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union.
Born October 30, 1907, in Belgrade, Maine, Pettingill attended Bowdoin College, where he developed an interest in ornithology.[2] Studying under zoologist Alfred O. Gross, Pettingill conducted studies of the last three heath hens on Martha's Vineyard in 1927 with Gross and Thornton Burgess.[2]
In 1928, Pettingill enrolled in the University of Michigan, then attended graduate school at Cornell University starting in 1930 – joining the AOU in the same year – where he conducted a PhD dissertation on the American woodcock.[2]
Appointed a delegate to the 12th and 14th International Ornithological Congresses,[2] Pettingill was appointed Director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology in 1960, a position he held until his retirement in 1973,[2] and provided footage for four Walt Disney nature films, including the Academy Award-winning The Vanishing Prairie,[2] in addition to making several ornithological films of his own, including works on albatrosses, penguins, and the wildlife of island nations, which often aired as part of Audubon Screen Tours.[3]
Tenured at Carleton College for 17 years,[2] Pettingill taught at the University of Michigan Biological Station for 35 years.[2] Pettingill was awarded birding's highest honor, the Ludlow Griscom Award, in 1982,[2] and also received Cornell's Arthur A. Allen Medal in 1974, and the Eisenmann Medal in 1985.[2] Holding three honorary doctorates in science,[2] Pettingill appeared on both The Today Show and To Tell the Truth.[2]
Pettingill died December 11, 2001, in Bedford, Texas, aged 94.[2]