Acknowledgments

Johanna Beam

Johanna Beam would like to thank her partner for his unwavering enthusiasm and patience; the Taylor Lab at University of Colorado Boulder for accepting her into the lab, and funding and supporting her undergrad honors thesis project; the Toews Lab at Penn State for letting her continue her meadowlark obsession; and her parents and friends for their support and enthusiasm about her project.

Wesley E. Lanyon

I am grateful to the Breeding Bird Survey and its volunteers for the data on breeding-population trends, to Jeffrey T. Price for providing the map of breeding densities, and to the Bird Banding Laboratory for data on banded birds. J. Bruce Falls and Sievert Rohwer were most generous in sharing their knowledge of meadowlarks.

Field studies in the north-central states were conducted under the guidance and encouragement of John T. Emlen, Jr., and were supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Fund. Subsequent laboratory and aviary studies, and collections and library research, were made possible by the staff and resources of the American Museum of Natural History and its field station on Long Island. Additional specimens were examined in the National Museum of Natural History.

Above all I am indebted to my wife, Vernia, for her unceasing assistance, encouragement, and patience during the 25 years that we literally lived with meadowlarks.