Dickcissel

Fascinating facts about the Dickcissel

• Dickcissels measure just 5.5-6.3 in (140-160 mm) long, span 9.8-10.2 in (250-260 mm) across, and tip the scales at only 0.9-1.4 oz (26-40 g). Their large, pale bill is, a clue that, despite a finch-like silhouette, they belong to the cardinal family. This tiny, heavyweight-bearing beak lets them crack seeds and snatch insects on the prairie.
• Dickcissels are late-arriving breeders, with the first birds showing up only in May and most landing in early June, then nesting low in grasses or up to 3-4 ft (91-122 cm) high in shrubs. Males can court up to six females, though many end up with none, and the brief pair bond lasts just long enough to raise a single brood before breaking up by early August.
• In the early 1800s the dickcissel surged eastward from the tallgrass prairies, but after 1850 its range shrank and it vanished as a regular breeder along the East Coast. from 1966 to 2015 the species suffered a greater than 1.5 % population reduction in the northern part of its breeding range and throughout the Midwest. These historic expansions and recent declines illustrate how tightly the bird's fortunes are tied to grassland loss and changing agricultural practices.
• A single odd specimen collected on May 11, 1833 in Chester County, Pennsylvania sparked a mystery until a look-alike was photographed in Ontario in 2014, confirming the bird still exists. The "Townsend's dickcissel" lacks all yellow lipochrome pigments, giving it a beige-grey plumage, and scientists think a single point mutation in carotenoid metabolism, similar to albinism, caused the change. If true, this ultra-rare genetic slip shows how a tiny DNA tweak can produce a wholly new color form in a species otherwise uniform in hue.
• Each fall the dickcissel joins massive flocks that travel from the Midwest to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, turning the sky into a moving carpet of brown and rust. While on the ground they eat insects and seeds, but in agricultural fields they can become a pest, with whole flocks devouring large quantities of cultivated grain.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Dickcissel

As the sun rises over the rolling grasslands, the dickcissel's melodious song fills the air, a vibrant serenade that heralds the arrival of this charismatic finch. With its distinctive yellow breast and black throat patch, the dickcissel flits effortlessly through the tall grasses, its wings beating in a blur of motion as it pursues the abundant insects that fuel its remarkable migratory journeys. In its nomadic travels, the dickcissel embodies the very essence of adaptability, thriving in a wide range of habitats from prairies to backyards, its resilient spirit a testament to the enduring power of nature.

Dickcissel photographed on Feravox

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