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Dickcissel

This sparrow-size finch is not too easy to describe for plumage varies. There is no doubt about the singing male for he gets his name from his song and reminds you every few seconds that he is a Dickcissel. He shows a yellow breast with a black spot and except for size resembles a meadowlark. Telephone wires, fences or weeds offer good perches and there you will find him with head back and tail hanging down as he repeats his song. A reddish-brown wing patch is a good field mark in some seasons. The female is much like the female English Sparrow but is lighter with a tinge of yellow and a lighter eye-line.

Dickcissels are common around fields or meadows and seem to be especially fond of alfalfa fields for they offer a good assortment of beetles, bugs and hoppers on which the bird thrives. Larvae and small seeds round out the diet and make this bird a useful neighbor on any farm.

They nest on or near the ground. This makes them victims of various predators which range thru such areas. Cowbirds seem to rely on these birds to raise their young for they are often found feeding the young imposters. They wander widely in both nesting and winter range and frequently appear where least expected.

Author

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Introduction to Our Bird Friends, Volume 1, by Lenwood Ballard Carson
Published 1954

Posted on

Wednesday 8 July 2020

Dimensions

621*818

Tags

Birds

Albums

• Natural History / Birds

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