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Bird name:

Bobolink

Dolichonyx oryzivorusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Blackbirds and Orioles (Icteridae)
Codes: Common Name: BOBO Scientific Name: DOLORY ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179032
Least Concern
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Bobolink Breeding Adult
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Overview

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.


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.

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Topo Map: Perching-like Body


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.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Irina Rud-Volga

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Range Map for Bobolink

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Family Orioles and Blackbirds (Icteridae)_blue
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
Perching-like BodyX
NapeX
Also called the hindneck or collar, it is the back of the neck where the head joins the body.
RumpX
The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.
Wing covertsX
The feathers that cover and protect the flight feathers.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX