Dickcissel

Adult males have a bright yellow supercilium, a distinct black throat patch (bib), a chestnut patch on the shoulder (lesser coverts), and a gray head. Females and immatures are much duller, lacking the black throat and vibrant yellow, showing a pale yellowish-buff throat with dark streaking on the breast and flanks.

Yellowish chest, heavy conical bill, chestnut shoulder patch, and distinct facial pattern with a yellow supercilium.

Length: 14-16 cm (5.5-6.3 in), Wingspan: 24-25 cm (9.4-9.8 in), Weight: 25-38 g (0.9-1.3 oz)

A sharp, buzzy 'dick-dick-cissel' song, repeated frequently from an exposed perch.

Primarily seeds of grasses and weeds, and insects during the breeding season.

Grasslands, hayfields, agricultural areas with tall herbaceous vegetation, and prairies.

Neotropical migrant, traveling in large flocks between North American breeding grounds and South American wintering areas.

Constructs an open cup nest of grass and forbs, placed low in dense vegetation or on the ground. Lays 3-5 pale blue eggs.

House Sparrow and female House Finch, but distinguished by the Dickcissel's yellow supercilium, chestnut wing patches, and distinct habitat preference.

Acts as an important seed disperser and insect predator in grassland and agricultural ecosystems.

Least Concern, though populations have experienced localized declines due to habitat loss.

Look for singing males perched prominently on weed stems, fences, or utility wires in open grasslands and agricultural fields during the breeding season.

Dickcissels are notorious for their nomadic and shifting breeding distribution, often appearing in massive numbers in an area one year and being entirely absent the next.