Navigation

Dickcissel

A male Dickcissel, perched on an Eastern White Cedar loaded with cones, surveys his summer kingdom.

The Dickcissel, now quite commonly seen and heard throughout Wisconsin, is a bird that a good many state birders have not seen before. This year marks only the second time in 30 years that we have observed and heard this field bird within walking distance of our home.

The male is easy to see and hear. Even I, with relatively poor hearing, can clearly make out the vigorous singer from 40 or 50 feet away.

The beautifully marked and colorful male, about sparrow size or a little larger, will often choose a favorite perch and repeat his very recognizable song like a broken record: “dick dick SIS SIS sis, dick dick SIS SIS sis.” The “sis” part of its song tends to be quite buzzy in character. It was logical for the bird’s name to have been based upon its vigorous far-reaching song that most often is simple to match to words, although it is known to vary somewhat.

One good look at the male will lead many people to describe it as a miniature Meadowlark with its yellow breast and black V-shaped bib on its upper chest. Other excellent field marks are a rusty-colored shoulder patch, yellow eyebrows, a pale crescent below the eye and a white chin and mustache. The center of the male’s breast is bright yellow while the black stripes are very visible on a brownish back.

The seldom-seen female is like the male but lacks the yellow and black on her breast. Both the females and young can be easily mistaken for House Sparrows.

A large movement of Dickcissels into Wisconsin occurred in 1964 when their summer population was estimated to be at least a million birds. The next wide scale appearance of them in the state was in 1988, although in general the species has experienced a steady decline.

Some years these erratic-appearing birds are seldom seen in the entire state. The loss of suitable nesting and feeding habitat due to changing agricultural practices and to natural succession are among the factors explaining their decline. The birds tend to favor nesting in or near alfalfa fields and, due to the increasingly early harvesting of alfalfa and more frequent cutting of hay fields, we can expect to see fewer and fewer of these birds through the years.

In 1903, L. Kumlien and N. Hollister, early Wisconsin ornithologists, wrote a book, The Birds of Wisconsin, and described the Dickcissel:

“A common summer resident, sometimes almost abundant. The Dickcissel seems to be a very erratic bird. In some parts of the state it is rather uncertain or rare, while in other districts it is in certain years really abundant. It was formerly rare in Walworth County, for instance, but in the season of 1901 was one of the most common of roadside birds, a male sitting every few rods (note: one rod equals 16.5 feet) along favorable highways. For the past 10 years in this county, the species has been on the increase. Taking the state at large also it is much more abundant generally than 30 or 40 years ago. Two broods are very likely reared in a summer, as we have found eggs in June and young only recently from the nest, in September.”

According to Hal Harrison’s book, A Field Guide to Birds’ Nests, the nest is “placed on or near ground, typically well-hidden in rank growth of clover, alfalfa, grass, weeds,” and is very difficult to find. The eggs are unmarked and blue, quite similar to those of the Eastern Bluebird.

Some males may have up to six mates, with most attracting only one or two. This is one of few songbirds that are truly polygynous. Its scientific name is Spiza americana, and it claims the distinction of being the only member of the Spiza genus.

The bright chestnut-colored shoulder patch shows well on this singing male Dickcissel.

Now is the time to go looking for these interesting birds because by mid-August they are considered to have left the state for northern South America where they will winter. Back on July 6, 2007, our expert birding friend, Noel Cutright, an active and highly respected Wisconsin ornithologist, reported that north of Port Washington and east of Highway 57, he counted a total of 131 singing male Dickcissels. Hay fields, pastures, weedy fallow fields, and weedy margins of ditches and roadsides tend to be their most frequently used habitats.

When these birds begin to flock after nesting they may become very problematic. It is not uncommon for the migratory flocks to number into the several hundreds. Their primary wintering grounds are in the Llanos of Venezuela and, being very gregarious, they may form flocks of more than one million birds. They feed primarily on cultivated plants including rice and sorghum and do extensive damage.

Some farmers in South America control the birds’ numbers by poisoning, a practice which eventually may significantly reduce the world population of the Dickcissels. Fortunately there are increasing efforts of conservation groups and agriculturists to cooperate in finding better solutions to the problem.

Ornithologists in Door County estimate that close to 70 percent of the food eaten by Dickcissels are insects considered harmful to agriculture. Close to 25 percent of their food is neutral which clearly marks the Dickcissel as a valuable species.

We have had reports of these attractive energetic vocalists from southern to northern Door County, so they should be quite easy to find. Go in search of the Dickcissel, its unusual beauty and its wonderfully descriptive song. You’ll be glad you did!