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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 30(1)

Biography of Dr Penelope (Penny) Diane Olsen AM; renowned ornithologist and author of books on Australian ornithological art and ornithological history

Patricia L. Kennedy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2090-1821
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center, Oregon State University, Union, OR 97883, USA. Email: pat.kennedy@oregonstate.edu

Pacific Conservation Biology 30, PC21025 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC21025
Submitted: 15 April 2021  Accepted: 21 June 2021  Published: 22 July 2021

CSIRO

Abstract

Penelope (Penny) Olsen is among the first small, but significant tranche of women field biologists. Penny is a world-renowned ornithologist and author who has spent her entire working career passionately pursuing conservation of Australian wildlife. Her award-wining books make science decipherable to ordinary readers. This paper is a brief biography of Penny, as one of the more successful of those pioneer women conservation biologists to work in the Pacific region. It tracks her early life, her influences and career path, and her struggles to balance work and family while working largely as a self-funded biologist and writer.

Keywords: biography, parrots, raptors, wildlife art, women in science.

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