Quantcast

Bobolink

Dolichonyx oryzivorusOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)

Bobolink Breeding Adult Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Bobolink: Small, lark-like blackbird, all-black except for buff nape, white rump, and white wing patches. Female is pale yellow with brown streaks and dark crown stripes. Winter adult is similar to female but with stronger yellow hue.

Range and Habitat

Bobolink: Breeds from southern British Columbia across southern Canada to Nova Scotia and south to eastern Oregon, central Colorado, central Illinois, western Virginia, and western North Carolina. Spends winters in southern South America. Preferred habitats include prairies and meadows; stays on marshes during migration.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"bob-o-link, bob-o-link, pink, pink, pank, pink"

Interesting Facts

  • The Bobolink is the only American bird that is black underneath and white on the back. This coloring makes the male stand out while he is performing his displays. After breeding he changes into a drab, camouflaged plumage to spend the rest of the year.
  • They are one of the few songbirds that undergo two complete molts each year, completely changing its feathers on both the breeding and wintering grounds.
  • Each fall, they gather in large numbers in southern rice fields, where their habit of eating grain has earned them the name "ricebird." They are collected as food in Jamaica, where they are called “butter birds”--a commentary on how fat they are as they pass through on migration.
  • A group of bobolinks are collectively known as a "chain" of bobolinks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Bobolink
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Dolichonyx oryzivorus
Length6.25 - 8 Inches
Wingspan11.375 Inches

Bobolink

Bobolink: Small, lark-like blackbird, all-black except for buff nape, white rump, and white wing patches. Tertials and wing coverts are lined with buff. Tail feathers are sharply pointed. Legs and feet are gray. Eats caterpillars, insects, seeds and grains. Strong undulating flight.

● Song: "bob-o-link, bob-o-link, pink, pink, pank, pink"

● Foraging & Feeding: Bobolink: In summer, eats insects and seeds; in winter mostly seeds; forages on the ground and in low vegetation.

● Breeding & nesting: Bobolink: Four to seven white eggs blotched with brown, purple, and lavender are laid in a cup of grass lined with fine plant materials. Nest is built in a ground depression covered with tall vegetation. Female incubates eggs for about 13 days.

● Similar species: Bobolink: Lark Bunting has yellow nape, white rump, and lacks a white wing patch. Female Bobolink is similar to Grasshopper Sparrow but is larger and has streaked flanks.

Flight Pattern

Strong undeviating and slightly undulating flight on rapidly beating wings.
Bobolink Breeding Adult Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Bobolink: Breeds from southern British Columbia across southern Canada to Nova Scotia and south to eastern Oregon, central Colorado, central Illinois, western Virginia, and western North Carolina. Spends winters in southern South America. Preferred habitats include prairies and meadows; stays on marshes during migration.
BreedingPolygamous
PopulationFairly common to common
MigrationMigratory
Weight1.7 Ounces