Dickcissel

Spiza americana

Order PASSERIFORMES - Family CARDINALIDAE

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A sparrow-like bird of the prairie grasslands of the United States, the Dickcissel congregates in huge flocks in migration and on its tropical grassland wintering grounds. The breeding male is colored like a tiny meadowlark, with a black "V" on a yellow chest.

Cool Facts

• In preparation for fall migration, Dickcissels begin assembling in larger and larger flocks that gradually coalesce into flocks of thousands. Winter roosts can number into the millions of birds.
• The Dickcissel makes irregular movements outside of its core breeding range to breed in surrounding areas where extensive grassland can be found. Such movements can make for dramatic changes in abundance from year to year. Abundance on much of the wintering ground also varies markedly from year to year.

• Nearly all Dickcissels winter far south of their breeding range, but each year small numbers can be found scattered within the breeding range throughout the winter. Individual Dickcissels frequently turn up far from the normal range, often joining in with House Sparrow flocks.

Description

• Size: 14-16 cm (6-6 in)
• Wingspan: 25 cm (10 in)
• Weight: 23-29 g (0.81-1.02 ounces)

• Small songbird.
• Stout, pointed bill.
• Rusty patch on shoulders.
• Yellow or yellowish on chest.
• Breeding male has large black "V" on yellow chest.

• Yellow or yellowish stripe over eyes.
• Bill bluish gray with dark upper edge in summer, more pinkish in winter.
• Eyes dark brown.
• Legs and feet brownish.

Sex Differences

Male with black "V" on yellow throat and chest. Female smaller, duller, and without black patch.

Male

Breeding (Alternate) Plumage: Streaked grayish head. Yellow stripe above eyes. Chin white. Thin black stripes at sides of throat. Black throat patch extending onto breast in a point. Chest bright yellow. Belly light gray. Back brown with black streaks. Tail and wings blackish. Chestnut shoulder patch.
Nonbreeding (Basic) Plumage: Black bib partly concealed by pale whitish to yellowish feather tips.

Female

Duller face and head pattern, with light yellow stripe over eyes. Throat whitish, with faint, thin dark stripes at sides. Breast dull yellow. Belly light gray. Thin dark streaks on flanks. Back brown with black streaks. Wings and tail blackish. Pale chestnut shoulder patch.

Immature

Immature similar to adult female, but duller. Yearling male with little black on chest.

Similar Species

• Female House Sparrow similar to female Dickcissel, but is stockier, lacks the thin black streaks on the sides of the throat and any streaks on flanks, has a shorter, blunter, yellowish, not bluish bill, rounded wings, and a broader, less yellow eyestripe.
• Meadowlarks have yellow chests with a black "V," but are much larger and stockier, with short tails with white outer tail feathers, and long, thin bills.

Sound

Song a simple, dry, "dick, dick, ciss, ciss, ciss." Call a dry "chek." Flight call a short, buzzy "fpppt," like a Bronx cheer.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds in southern Great Plains, from eastern North Dakota to Michigan and Indiana, southward to Texas and Louisiana, and irregularly eastward to New Jersey and westward to New Mexico to Saskatchewan.

Winter Range

Winters in Central America and northern South America.

Habitat

Tall grasslands, including prairie, hayfields, lightly grazed pastures, and roadsides.

Food

Seeds and insects.

Behavior

Foraging

Perches on stalks to pluck seeds, picks fallen seeds from ground.

Reproduction

Nest Type

A bulky cup of weed and grass stems, lined with finer grasses, rootlets, and hair. Placed slightly above ground in dense grasses or in tree saplings.

Egg Description

Unmarked, pale blue.

Clutch Size

3-6 eggs.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless with sparse white down.

Conservation Status

Dickcissel populations declined drastically from 1966 to 1978, but then stablized at a lower level. May be declining again in some areas. Considered an agricultural pest on the wintering grounds.

Other Names

Dickcissel (French)
Arrocero americano (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Temple, S. A. 2002. Dickcissel (Spiza americana). In The Birds of North America, No. 703 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.