Dickcissel
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| Dickcissel | ||||||||||||||
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| Spiza americana (Gmelin,, 1789) |
The Dickcissel, Spiza americana, is a small seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. It possibly is the only member of the genus Spiza (Bonaparte, 1824).
These birds have a large pale bill, a yellow line over the eye, brownish upperparts with black streaks on the back, dark wings, a rust patch on the shoulder and light underparts. Adult males resemble a sparrow-sized Eastern Meadowlark; they have a black throat patch, a yellow breast and grey cheeks and crown. Females and juveniles are brownish on the cheeks and crown and are somewhat similar in appearance to House Sparrows; they have streaked flanks.
Their breeding habitat is fields in mid-western North America. They nest on or near the ground in dense grasses. Males may have more than one mate.
These birds migrate in large flocks to southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America.
Dickcissels forage on the ground or in fields. They mainly eat insects and seeds. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. They are considered a pest by farmers in some regions because flocks can consume large quantities of cultivated grains.
Although this bird was originally quite common along the Atlantic coast of the United States, only small numbers occur there now.
They make a buzzing call in flight. From an open perch in a field, this bird's call is a sharp dick dick followed by a buzzed cissel.
A problematic form known as Spiza townsendi? was collected by John James Audubon in Chester County, Pennsylvania and the single specimen is considered unique, but whether or not it constitutes a valid species is undetermined. It may be a freak, hybrid, or a very distinct form. The specimen is distinct enough that it has been listed by some as a true (extinct) species, but this may be incorrect, as no one seems to know for certain what exactly the specimen represents. Whatever the specimen is, nothing else like it has been seen before or since.