Nominations close 1 November each year
The D.L. Serventy Medal is awarded for outstanding published work on birds in the Australasian region. It has been awarded since 1991 and is the highest award offered to professional ornithologists by BirdLife Australia.
The medal is given in honour of Dom Serventy (1904–1988), one of the most influential ornithologists in Australasia in the 20th century.
Interested in all aspects of ornithology, from biogeography and speciation to breeding seasons and general biology, he had a profound and long-term influence on conservation in the region. For instance, the ground-breaking population study of Short-tailed Shearwaters he established on islands in Bass Strait continues to this day, and many other aspects of his ornithological leadership endure in modern ornithology.
He was President of the RAOU from 1947–1949, and awarded fellowship in 1952. He won the Australian Natural History Medallion in 1956, was a member of the Western Australian Wildlife Authority 1943–74, editor of Western Australian Naturalist 1947–80, member of the Permanent Executive Committee of the International Ornithological Congress 1966–78, and fellow of the Western Australian Museum from 1974.
He was a lecturer in zoology at the University of Western Australia from 1934–37, a research officer at the CSIRO Fisheries Division from 1937–51 and officer-in-charge at CSIRO Wildlife Survey Division, Perth, from 1951–1969.
With his brother Vincent and sister Lucy, he revived the Western Australian Naturalists’ Club after World War II. He also produced extensive sets of bird distribution maps and wrote The Handbook of Australian Seabirds (1971) with Vincent Serventy and John Warham, and Birds of Western Australia (five editions between 1948 and 1976) with H.M. Whittell.
Indeed, so many aspects of modern Australasian ornithology have been influenced by his insightful, diligent and enthusiastic work.
Please download and complete the D.L. Serventy Medal Nomination Form provided below. Once you have finished, please attach it to the submission form located at the bottom of this page.
Nominations are to be submitted to the Chair of the Research & Conservation Committee Scientific Awards Sub-Committee by no later than 1 November.
Nominations should include a written statement (of no more than 500 words) outlining the scientific contributions that the nominee has made to Australasian ornithology, supported by a curriculum vitae, a list of all publications/contributions, and the names of at least three referees.
D.L. Serventy Medal Nomination Form
The D.L. Serventy Medal is awarded to members judged to have made outstanding contribution to scientific publications in the field of ornithology in the Australasian Region (the Region includes Australasia as defined by the Wallace Line, the South Pacific and Antarctica, including Australian and New Zealand subantarctic islands). This is taken to include publishing, editing, reviewing, promoting and assisting publication.
Only publications within the Australasian Region are considered under this Award. The nominee need not reside within the Region.
This Award is available only to living, past or present members of BirdLife Australia (or living, past members of BOCA or Birds Australia), who must be proposed and seconded by three other members. It is possible for two people who have worked closely together to be awarded the medal simultaneously.
2023: Professor Robert Heinsohn 2022: Dr Eric Woehler 2021: Professor Andrew F. Bennett 2020: Professor Ralph Mac Nally 2019: Professor Naomi Langmore 2018: Dr Leo G. Joseph 2017: Professor Sarah M. Legge 2016: Professor Sonia M. Kleindorfer 2015: Dr Stephen J.S. Debus 2014: Dr Richard H. Loyn 2013: Emeritus Professor Ron D. Wooller 2012: Professor Richard Kingsford 2011: Associate Professor David C. Paton 2010: Professor David Lindenmayer 2009: Emeritus Professor Carla P. Catterall 2008: Professor Stephen T. Garnett and Dr Gabriel Crowley 2007: Professor Michael Clarke 2006: Dr Denis A. Saunders 2005: Drs Lesley and Michael Brooker 2004: Emeritus Professor Andrew Cockburn 2003: Associate Professor Trevor Worthy and Adjunct Professor Richard N. Holdaway 2002: – 2001: Professor John C.Z. Woinarski 2000: – 1999: Professor Jiro Kikkawa 1998: Associate Professor Richard Zann 1997: Dr Penny D. Olsen 1996: Drs Cliff B. and Dawn W. Frith 1995: Professor J. Allen Keast 1994: Emeritus Professor Harry F. Recher 1993: Professor Hugh A. Ford 1992: Dr John Warham 1991: Dr Ian C.R. Rowley
Please attach your D.L. Serventy Medal Nomination Form here. Nominations are to be submitted no later than 1 November. Nominations should include a written statement (of no more than 500 words), outlining the scientific contributions that the nominee has made to Australasian ornithology, supported by a curriculum vitae, list of all publications and the names of at least three referees.
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