Initiated in 1939 as "Honorary Life," this award for outstanding achievement in the science of ornithology was renamed the "Golden Passenger Pigeon" in 1978. It is awarded for recognized published research, major book efforts or other such work in ornithology. It conveys life WSO membership upon the recipient and is limited to 15 living members at any time. A list of receipients is below.
Golden Passenger Pigeon Award Recipients
| Dr. Robert Rosenfield | 2024 |
| Laura Erickson | 2022 |
|
George Archibald Sumner Matteson |
2020 |
| Robert W. Howe | 2017 |
| Thomas Nicholls | 2013 |
| Thomas R. Schultz | 2001 |
| Stanley A. Temple | 1989 |
| Samuel D. Robbins | 1974 |
| Frances Hamerstrom | 1972 |
| Chandler S. Robbins | 1970 |
| John T. Emlen | 1967 |
| Joseph J. Hickey | 1966 |
| Dr. Joel Carl Welty | 1964 |
| Alexander Wetmore | 1954 |
|
Wallace B. Grange Owen Gromme |
1950 |
| George Wagner | 1945 |
|
Leon J. Cole Hartley H. T. Jackson Aldo Leopold |
1942 |
| A. W. Schorger | 1941 |
| Herbert L. Stoddard, Sr. | 1940 |
