Dickcissel Gallery

Spiza americana

eBird describes the Dickcissel like this:  Sparrowlike bird known for gathering in enormous wintering flocks in South America. Males are striking with yellow breast, black patch on throat, and rufous shoulders. Females duller but usually show faint ghost of male’s yellow pattern and rufous shoulders. Breeds in grasslands. Feeds on seeds and insects. Wanders during migration and is sometimes found out-of-place among flocks of House Sparrows. Call is a flatulent, buzzy “fpppt,” often given in flight.  All About Birds gives this additional descriptive information about the Dickcissel:  The curt song of the Dickcissel sounds like the bird’s name, and it’s part of the soundtrack of the North American prairies. This chunky grassland bunting is colored like a miniature meadowlark, with a black V on a yellow chest. These birds are erratic wanderers—common across the middle of the continent, and a pleasant surprise whenever they turn up in pastures and fields elsewhere in the central and eastern United States. Dickcissels can form enormous flocks on migration and in winter.

I saw my first Dickcissel at the Acorn Blind at South Llano State Park on the late morning of September 2, 2020.  The bird I saw there was a female.

On the afternoon of October 5, 2020, I was at Crescent Bend Nature Park at the blind near the parking lot, and I saw a Dickcissel perched in a tree.  The markings on this bird indicated it was an immature bird.  I hope my next sighting is of the colorful male!

Shortly after noon on Friday, May 5, 2023, I was driving down Shortcut Road near my home when I spotted a bird perched on top of a small tree by the side of the road.  I stopped and took a photo, and determined that the bird was a male Dickcissel.  Here is the pic I took.