Nestling Diet of Eastern Meadowlarks in East-central Illinois

We observed Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) nests in Conservation Reserve Program grasslands in east-central Illinois to examine the influence of the surrounding agricultural landscape on nestling diets. Esophageal ligatures were applied to 3and 6-day old nestlings to examine food items brought to the nest. The most common items were spiders (44% of total volume; primarily wolf spiders [Hogna spp.1), followed by orthopterans (23%; crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids), and lepidopteran larvae (18%, primarily cutworms). Adult Eastern Meadowlarks foraged more often than expected in soybean fields.