Birds of the Tallgrass Prairie - The Dickcissel

In her book Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder mentions the "dickie-bird", or dickcissel, as it is more properly called, more than once.

A Dickcissel Atop a Fencepost

"Meadow larks were springing straight up from the billows of grass into the high, clear sky, singing as they went. Small pearly clouds drifted in the intense blueness overhead. In all the weed-tops tiny birds were swinging and singing in tiny voices. Pa said they were dickcissels.

“Dickie, dickie!” Laura called back to them. “Dickie-bird!”

(Quote taken from Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder)

The Same Dickcissel Singing His Little Heart Out

Dickcissels are small, compact birds with a thick bill and short tail. They are about the same size as a house sparrow.

Adult males are grayish on the head with a yellow face and chest, crossed with a bold black V. The back is brown and gray, with warm reddish-brown shoulders. Females have a similar but more subdued pattern, but they lack the black V on the throat. Immatures are browner, without the cool gray or bright yellow tones.

The dickcissel's call in flight is described as an "electric" buzz; their song described as a sharp dick dick followed by a buzzed cissel. 

A Dickcissel Sitting on a Wire Fence

Here, in their Midwest summer breeding grounds, it seems that male dickcissels can be found singing their name from every fence-post, wire, and plant-stalk in tall grasslands, which includes prairies, farmlands, and roadsides. In autumn, the birds migrate in large flocks to southern Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, where they

overwinter.

Dickcissels forage in flocks and eat mostly insects and seeds.

To see a dickcissel up close or to hear what a dickcissel sounds like, click HERE.

Until next time...
~Rebecca

Recent and related posts that you might enjoy reading...

It's Been A While and What's Happening Presently On The Tallgrass Prairie

Bison On Parade @ Prairie State Park - Mindenmines, Missouri

Around The Border and Along The Edges