Margaret Morse Nice | |
|---|---|
 Nice studying a nest of baby field sparrows (1956) | |
| Born | December 6, 1883 |
| Died | June 26, 1974 (aged 90) |
| Alma mater | Mount Holyoke College (BA) Clark University (MA) |
| Spouse | Leonard Blaine Nice |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | |
Margaret Morse Nice (December 6, 1883 – June 26, 1974) was an American ornithologist, ethologist, and child psychologist who made an extensive study of the life history of the song sparrow and was author of Studies in the Life History of the Song Sparrow (1937). She observed and recorded hierarchies in chicken about three decades ahead of Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe who coined the term "pecking order". After her marriage, she made observations on language learning in her children and wrote numerous research papers.