Contributions to the History of North American Ornithology

Ohio Wesleyan University.The first volume, published in 1995, is an eclectic assortment of contributed chapters, with contributions to ornithology ranging from museums, universities, and government agencies, to historical essays on biogeography, Alexander Wilson, Canadian ornithology, and a chapter on the literature of the history of North American ornithology.There were major "holes" in our coverage that we attempted to fill with a second volume, published in 2000.In volume II we presented chapters on the history of ornithology at a number of institutions, included chapters on two professional organizations, and a chapter of personal recollections.This third volume continues the emphasis on institutional histories but includes chapters on eclectic subjects such as a biography and a group of early bird banders.We have placed the organization and institutional chapters at the beginning of the book, approximately in the order in which they were founded.Then follow the chapters on more general subjects.As in the first two volumes, most chapters are "court histories," written by people who participated in making the history they write about.We continue to believe that despite the potential for bias, these "insiders" historical accounts are important because of the insights provided through personal experience and intimate knowledge of the subject matter.These histories provide much information necessary for future historical synthesis.We hope that the essays of this volume will have heuristic value as well as providing interesting reading.We thank the authors for their patience and good will during the editing phase and our constant harassment about deadlines.