A grassland bird with one of the longest migrations of any songbird in the Americas — 12,500 miles round trip. Males have one of the most distinctive plumages of any North American bird: black underparts, white back, yellow nape.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The bobolink is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus Dolichonyx. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. The bobolink breeds in the summer in the United States and Canada, with most of the summer range in the northern U.S. Bobolinks winter in southern South America, primarily Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia. Bobolink numbers are rapidly declining due to factors such as agricultural intensification and habitat loss; they are considered threatened in Canada, and are at risk throughout their range.
Source: Wikipedia — Bobolink Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Males: striking black-and-white with creamy nape. Females and fall: streaky brown.
Similar species. Sparrows lack tuxedo pattern. Other blackbirds.
Voice. Bubbling banjo-like song.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Insects, seeds, weed grain.
Behavior. Bubbling musical song from rapid display flight. Migrates 20,000 km annually.
§ Range
Northern US in summer; South America in winter
§ Habitat
Hayfields, native tallgrass prairie, wet meadows
§ Threats
Hayfield mowing during nesting (a major mortality source), conversion to row crops, pesticide exposure on wintering grounds.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the bobolink is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Delay hay mowing until late July. Support farmland conservation programs that compensate for nesting buffers.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Bobolink
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Dolichonyx oryzivorus
- IUCN Red List · taxon 22724367
- iNaturalist · taxon 10097
- eBird · boboli
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Dolichonyx oryzivorus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab — All About Birds
- Bobolink Project
- National Audubon Society
- IUCN Red List 2018
