Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)

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Abstract:

The Bobolink is one of the most striking passerines in North America. Males—conspicuous visually, behaviorally, and vocally during the breeding season—look like they are wearing a tuxedo backward, leading some observers to refer to this species as the “skunk blackbird.” In addition, this North American breeder is an extraordinary migrant, traveling to south of the equator each autumn and making a round-trip of approximately 20,000 kilometers. Bobolinks have been shot as agricultural pests in the southern United States, trapped and sold as pets in Argentina, and collected as food in Jamaica. The species is not as abundant as it was several decades ago, primarily because of changing land-use practices, especially the decline of meadows and hay fields. This species account provides the known information about the boblink's life history, including its distribution, migration, habitat, food habits, sounds, behavior, and breeding. Also included are notes about management and conservation, as well as priorities for future research.

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Location: This revised version is online only; there's a note to that effect in ELECTRONIC FILES - Zoology: Birds.

Recommended citation:
Renfrew, Rosalind, Allan M. Strong, Noah G. Perlut, Stephen G. Martin and Thomas A. Gavin. 2015. Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/176 doi:10.2173/bna.176.

SWAP (2/19/2016) citation:
Renfrew R, Strong AM, Perlut NG, Martin SJ, Gavin TA. 2015. Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus). The Birds of North America Online. (A Poole, editor). Ithaca (NY): Cornell Lab of Ornithology. [revised 2015 Aug 13; accessed 2016 Feb 02]. http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/176.

BNA prefers that these documents are not printed as they can be revised at any time (are living documents).