George W. Archibald

George William Archibald (born 13 July 1946) is a Canadian ornithologist. He co-founded the International Crane Foundation, and was the inaugural winner of the 2006 Indianapolis Prize.

Archibald was born in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada to Donald Edison and Annie Letitia ("Lettie") (née MacLeod) Archibald. He received his bachelor's degree from Dalhousie University in 1968 and his doctorate in 1975 from Cornell University. He married Kyoko Matsumoto on 15 August 1981.

Work with cranes In 1973, when cranes were in a perilous situation and many of the fifteen remaining species were on the brink of extinction, Archibald co-founded, with Ron Sauey, the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. He was director from 1973 to 2000. Currently he heads a World Conservation Union commission on crane survival. His work inspired the 2016 children's book Dancing with Tex: The Remarkable Friendship to Save the Whooping Cranes by Lynn Sanders.

In order to protect the watersheds and grasslands where cranes live and to help increase migratory flight paths, Archibald has visited remote areas, including parts of Afghanistan, Cuba, India, Russia and the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

In 1984, Archibald was awarded a MacArthur Fellows Program grant for his work with cranes. In 1987, he was added to the UN's Global 500 Roll of Honour. In 2012, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada.