Margaret Morse Nice (December 6, 1883 - June 26, 1974) was an American ornithologist who made an extensive study of the life history of the sparrow and was author of Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow (1937). December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... Ornithology (from the Greek ornitha = chicken and logos = word/science) is the branch of biology concerned with the scientific study of birds. ... Binomial name Melospiza melodia (Wilson, 1810) The Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is a medium-sized sparrow. ...

Nice was born in Amherst, Massachusetts. She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College in 1906 and M.A. in biology from Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1915. Her first ornithological research was a detailed study of the birds of Oklahoma. In 1927 she moved to Columbus, Ohio, where she carried out the study of sparrows that established her as one of the leading ornithologists in the world, recording the behaviour of individual birds over a long period of time. In 1931 she met Ernst Mayr at a meeting of the American Ornithologists' Union, and it was he who encouraged her to write and arranged the publishing the results of her studies. Following the publication Nice was elected the first woman president of the Wilson Club and to fellowship of the AOU. In 1938 she spent two months studying the habits of captive birds with Konrad Lorenz in Austria.   Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. ... Mount Holyoke College is a liberal arts womens college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. ... Clark University, in Worcester, Massachusetts, in the United States, is a private teaching and research institution founded in 1887 by the industrialist Jonas Clark. ...   Nickname: The Heart of the Commonwealth, The City of the Seven Hills, Wormtown Settled: 1673 â€“ Incorporated: 1684 Zip Code(s): 01608 â€“ Area Code(s): 508 / 774 Official website: http://www. ... Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,960 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ... Nickname: The Arch City The Discovery City Location in the state of Ohio, USA Coordinates: Country United States State Ohio Counties Franklin, Delaware, and Fairfield  - Mayor Michael B. Coleman (D) Area    - City  212. ... This article has been identified as possibly containing errors. ... The American Ornithologists Union (AOU) an ornithological organization in the USA. Unlike the National Audubon Society, its members are primarily professional ornithologists rather than amateur birders. ... Lorenz being followed by his imprinted geese Konrad Zacharias Lorenz (November 7, 1903 in Vienna – February 27, 1989 in Vienna) was an Austrian zoologist, animal psychologist, and ornithologist. ...

Nice's other books included Birds of Oklahoma (1924), The Watcher at the Nest (1939) and her autobiography Research Is a Passion With Me (1979).

External links

• Mount Holyoke biography
• Margaret Morse Nice papers

Childhood

Margaret recieved a book in Christmas 1894, called Birdcraft. This is when her intrest in birds expanded. She climbed trees with Harold, her brother, to find bird nests at Grandfather's estate. She took Sunday walks with her mother, Margaret Ely Morse, to look at botany. Her father was a professer and had a hobby of gardening.

Both parents were worried that Margaret was unladylike. But Margaret was more independent than her three other sisters. When Harold died, she studied birds more often. Her sister's hens were her main project at age thirteen. She noted, "who pecked whom", and "who bossed whom".

As she grew older, school kept her inside. Until enrolling into Clark University in 1907, she finally started studying birds again. This time it was quail. Her results were published in 1910. She married Leonard Blaine Nice in 1909. She abandoned her studies to become a house wife.

Adult

Margaret had five children, Constance, born 1911, Marjorie, 1913, Barbara, 1916, Eleanor, 1918, and Janet, born 1922. Eleanor died of pneumonia at age nine in Columbus, Ohio.

The family moved from place to place, from Massachusetts to Oklahoma to Ohio and finally, Chicago. During that time, Margaret wrote about 250 articals about birds, became president of the Wilson Ornithological Club, studied, watched and raised Song Sparrows, traveled to Europe to meet other ornithologist, and won the Brewster Medal in 1942. The end of her life was dedicated to conserving wild life. Before she could publish her autobiography, she died in 1974 at age ninety. The Margaret Nice Ornithological Club publich her life story, Research is a Passion With Me.

Remembering Her

Margaret Morse Nice achieved many things. She proved the world that women can make a difference. She was remember for her warmth, curiosity, persistance, and dedication to family and friends. She had help restore Europe after the World War Two, by sending relief boxes. She had studied waterfowl with Constance. She had been a wonderful person, and her death was a great sorrow to the ornithological world.