Bobolink

The bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) is a New World small blackbird, and the only member of the Dolichonyx family. The "Rice Pigeon" is an old term for this species, because of its ability to feed on grown grains. Adults weighing about 28 g are 16–18 cm long with short finch-like bills. Adult males are predominantly black, with dark napes and white scapulars, lower back and rumps. Most of the adult females on the back and flanks are light brown with black lines, and white bands on the head; their wings and tails are darker. Over the summer, the bobolink breeds in North America and southern Canada, wintering even in South America. Considered to be a pest by some farmers, the number of these birds is declining and is an endangered species all over Canada. Adults are 16–18 cm long and have thin finch-like eyes. Weighing 258 grammes, they say. Adult males are mainly black, with brown napes and white scapulars, lower back and rumps. Although mainly adult females are light brown, their colouring includes black streaks on the back and flanks, and dark lines on the head; their wings and tail are white. For a bobolink party the collective name is a line. In North America, the bobolink races across much of southern Canada and the northern United States throughout the summer. It migrates through large times, wintering in north South America in Chile, Colombia, Brazil and Paraguay. One bird was recorded travelling 19,000 km over the course of the year, often flying long distances up to 1,800 km in a single day, then stopping for days or weeks to recover. They also migrate in flocks, feeding on grown grains and rice, leading to farmers being considered a pest in some regions. Although bobolinks travel long distances, like so many American vagabonds, they were barely seen in Europe, the vast majority of records are from British Isles. Thanks to their consumption of large amounts of grain from rice fields in South Carolina and the Gulf States during their southern migration in the fall, the species is known in the southern United States as the "reedbird" or the "ricebird." One of the species ' main migration routes is through Jamaica, where they are known as "butter-birds" and have been captured at least as food historically. Their breeding habitats in North America are open grassy areas, particularly hay areas. In the high performing environments males are also polygynous. Females lay five or six eggs in a cup-shaped nest, often placed on the ground and usually well hidden in dense vegetation. Both parents feed the child. Bobolinks forage on or near the ground, and mainly eat seeds and insects. They're named the "armyworm bee" because of their predation on armyworm moths such as the true armyworm moth. Males, in flight, sing colourful, bubbly songs. These numbers of birds are declining due to habitat loss. Bobolinks are an endangered species in Nova Scotia as well as throughout Canada. A decrease of 75 per cent was recorded in Vermont around 1966 and 2007. Initially, they were found in tall grass prairie, as well as other open areas with thick grass. Though hay fields are ideal breeding habitat, fields harvested early or multiple times, young birds can not have enough time to fledge in a season. Delaying hay harvests by just 1.5 weeks would improve bobolink survival by 20 per cent. This species grew in numbers as the predominant mode of transportation was horses, requiring greater supplies of hay. Emily Dickinson had written a number of poems about the insect. Edgar Allan Poe addresses the cat in "Landor's Cottage." William Cullen Bryant had written about the bob-o'-link in his poem "Robert of Lincoln."