Dolichonyx oryzivorus
The Bobolink, *Dolichonyx oryzivorus*, is a medium-sized New World icterid renowned for its striking sexual dimorphism and epic migratory journey. Breeding males are unmistakable with their "backwards tuxedo" plumage: primarily black underparts, contrasting with a creamy white back, and a distinctive golden-yellow nape, measuring about 16-18 cm (6-7 inches) in length with a wingspan of 26-30 cm (10-12 inches) and weighing 25-50 grams. Females, in stark contrast, are streaky buff-brown, resemb...
Bobolinks primarily inhabit open, grassy ecosystems such as tallgrass prairies, hayfields, meadows, and pastures, preferring areas with moderate to dense vegetation for nesting. They generally occur in low to mid-elevation agricultural and natural grasslands.
Their diet shifts seasonally, primarily consisting of insects (grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles) during the breeding season, transitioning to seeds (grass seeds, cereal grains like rice and oats) and some berries during migration and winter. They forage by gleaning insects from ground and vege...
Bobolinks are diurnal birds, actively foraging during the day and often forming large, communal roosts in dense vegetation, particularly during migration and winter. Foraging primarily involves gleaning insects from vegetation and the ground, especially during the breeding season, though they swi...
The Bobolink exhibits a vast trans-equatorial migratory range, breeding across the northern United States and southern Canada, extending from the Canadian Prairies eastward to the Maritime Provinces and from the Great Plains to the Northeast U.S. states. During fall migration, they traverse a wid...
Near Threatened
- The Bobolink undertakes one of the longest migrations of any North American songbird relative to its body size, traveling up to 12,500 miles (20,000 km) round-trip each year. - The male's breeding plumage is often described as a "backwards tuxedo" due to its black underparts, white back, and go...