View source for Bobolink

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Bobolink
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Pleistocene|present}}
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22724367A94863313 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22724367A94863313.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image = Bobolink (27239680521) (cropped).jpg
| image_caption = male
| genus = Dolichonyx
| parent_authority = [[William John Swainson|Swainson]], 1827
| species = oryzivorus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = Dolichonyx oryzivorus.svg 
| range_map_caption = Approximate distribution. {{leftlegend|#2C5AA0|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#D45500|Non-breeding range|outline=gray}}
| synonyms = *''Fringilla oryzivora'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Emberiza oryzivora'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766}}
}}

The '''bobolink''' ('''''Dolichonyx oryzivorus''''') is a small [[icterid|New World blackbird]] and the only member of the genus '''''Dolichonyx'''''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. The bobolink breeds in the summer in the [[United States]] and [[Canada]], with most of the summer range in the northern U.S. Bobolinks winter in southern [[South America]], primarily [[Paraguay]], [[Argentina]], and [[Bolivia]]. Bobolink populations are rapidly declining due to numerous factors, such as agricultural intensification and habitat loss; they are considered threatened in Canada, and are at risk throughout their range.

==Etymology==

The genus name ''Dolichonyx'' is from the [[Ancient Greek]] {{transliteration|grc|dolikhos}}, "long", and {{transliteration|grc|onux}}, "claw". The specific ''oryzivorus'' is from [[Latin]] {{lang|la|oryza}}, "rice", and {{lang|la|vorare}}, "to devour"; an old name for this species is "Rice Bird".<ref name =job>{{cite book | last= Jobling | first= James A. | year= 2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url= https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location = London, United Kingdom | isbn = 978-1-4081-2501-4 | pages =[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n138 138], 285 }}</ref> The English "Bobolink" is from Bob o' Lincoln, describing the call.<ref name=OED>{{Cite OED | Bobolink}}</ref>

==Description==
'''Measurements''':<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bobolink Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology|url=https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Bobolink/id|access-date=2020-09-30|website=www.allaboutbirds.org|language=en|archive-date=2020-09-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927134700/https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/bobolink/id|url-status=live}}</ref>

* '''Length''': {{convert|5.9|-|8.3|in|cm|abbr=on}}
* '''Weight''': {{convert|1.0|-|2.0|oz|g|abbr=on}}
* '''Wingspan''': {{convert|10.6|in|cm}}

Adults are {{convert|16|–|18|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with short [[finch]]-like bills and weigh about {{convert|1|oz|g|abbr=on|order=flip}}. Adult males are mostly black with creamy napes and white scapulars, lower backs, and rumps. Adult females are mostly light brown with black streaks on the back and flanks, and dark stripes on the head; their wings and tails are darker.

[[File:Bobolink Point Pelee (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Female]]

==Distribution and movements==
The bobolink breeds in the summer in North America across much of southern Canada and the northern United States;<ref name=eol/> from 1966 to 2015 the species experienced a greater than 1.5% annual population decrease throughout most of its breeding range, extending from the [[Midwestern United States]] to [[The Maritimes|the Canadian Maritimes]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus BBS Trend Map, 1966 - 2015 |url=https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/tr2015/trend2015_v3.html |website=USGS |publisher=U.S. Department of the Interior |access-date=2020-12-15 |archive-date=2019-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190830134956/https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/bbs/tr2015/trend2015_v3.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The bobolink [[bird migration|migrates]] long distances, wintering in southern South America.<ref name=eol>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Bobolink – Dolichonyx oryzivorus – Overview | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Life | url=http://eol.org/pages/1051993/overview | access-date=14 December 2013 | archive-date=18 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218175532/http://eol.org/pages/1051993/overview | url-status=live }}</ref> One bird was tracked migrating {{convert|12000|mi|km|abbr=on}} over the course of the year, often flying long distances up to {{convert|1100|mi|km|abbr=on}} in a single day, then stopping to recuperate for days or weeks.<ref name=Page2011>{{cite news| title=Vermont scientists paint detailed picture of bobolink migration | work=Burlington Free Press | publisher=Gannett | date=1 April 2011 | last=Page | first=Candace | url=http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100625/NEWS02/104010006/ | archive-url=https://archive.today/20131214102950/http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20100625/NEWS02/104010006/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=14 December 2013 | access-date=14 December 2013}}</ref>

Bobolinks often migrate in flocks, feeding on cultivated grains and [[rice]], which leads to them being considered a pest by farmers in some areas. Although bobolinks migrate long distances, they have rarely been sighted in [[Europe]] — like many vagrants from the Americas, the majority of records are from the [[British Isles]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bobolink in Lincolnshire |url=https://www.birdguides.com/sightings/dolichonyx-oryzivorus/3400637# |website=BirdGuides |publisher=Warners Group Publications Plc |access-date=2020-12-15 |archive-date=2022-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126050647/https://www.birdguides.com/sightings/dolichonyx-oryzivorus/3400637 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The species has been known in the southern United States as the "reedbird," or the "ricebird" from their consumption of large amounts of the grain from rice fields in [[South Carolina]] and the [[Gulf Coast of the United States|Gulf States]] during their southward migration in the fall.<ref name="NewJersey1892">{{cite book|author=New Jersey. Board of Agriculture|title=State of New Jersey: Nineteenth Annual Report of the State Board of Agriculture, 1891–92|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pTsLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA156|access-date=14 December 2013|year=1892|publisher=New Jersey State Board of Agriculture|location=Trenton, NJ|page=156|archive-date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107202746/http://books.google.com/books?id=pTsLAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA156|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Chapman1909/><ref name=eolcommon>{{cite encyclopedia | title=Common Names for Bobolink (Dolchonyx oryzivorus) | encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Life | url=http://eol.org/pages/1051993/names/common_names | access-date=14 December 2013 | archive-date=18 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131218175536/http://eol.org/pages/1051993/names/common_names | url-status=live }}</ref> One of the species' main migration routes is through [[Jamaica]], where they are called "butter-birds" and at least historically were collected as food, having fattened up on the aforementioned rice.<ref name=Chapman1909>{{cite book|editor=Chapman, Frank M.|others=Wright, Mabel Osgood; Dutcher, William|title=Bird-lore: An Illustrated Bi-monthly Magazine Devoted to the Study and Protection of Birds|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkoQAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA372|access-date=14 December 2013|volume=11|year=1909|publisher=The Macmillan Company|pages=372–376|archive-date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107202802/http://books.google.com/books?id=lkoQAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA372|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=eolcommon/>

Bobolinks are the only species of land bird known to annually migrate through the [[Galápagos Islands]], which are over 2,000&nbsp;km from their primary migration route.<ref name="bioone.org">{{Cite journal|url=https://bioone.org/journals/the-wilson-journal-of-ornithology/volume-128/issue-4/15-195.1/Stopover-on-Galapagos-During-Autumn-Migration-of-Bobolinks-Dolichonyx-oryzivorus/10.1676/15-195.1.short|doi = 10.1676/15-195.1|title = Stopover on Galapagos During Autumn Migration of Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)|year = 2016|last1 = Perlut|first1 = Noah G.|last2 = Renfrew|first2 = Rosalind|journal = The Wilson Journal of Ornithology|volume = 128|issue = 4|pages = 935–938|s2cid = 90886243|url-access = subscription}}</ref> A bobolink was collected in the Galápagos Islands by Charles Darwin in 1835.<ref>Darwin, C. R. 1963. Darwin’s ornithological notes (Nora Barlow, Editor). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), Historical Series 2:201–278.</ref> Bobolinks have been hypothesized to act as vectors for avian malaria-causing parasites arriving in the Islands.<ref>{{Cite journal|pmc = 6032038|year = 2018|last1 = Perlut|first1 = N. G.|last2 = Parker|first2 = P. G.|last3 = Renfrew|first3 = R. B.|last4 = Jaramillo|first4 = M.|title = Haemosporidian parasite community in migrating bobolinks on the Galapagos Islands|journal = International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife|volume = 7|issue = 2|pages = 204–206|doi = 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2018.05.006|pmid = 29988782}}</ref> Additionally, bobolinks in the Galápagos have been found with seeds from ''[[Drymaria cordata]]'', a plant native to the Galápagos but highly invasive elsewhere, entangled in their feathers, potentially spreading them to the mainland.<ref name="bioone.org"/>

==Behaviour==

===Breeding===
Their breeding habitats are open grassy fields, especially [[hay]] fields, across [[North America]]. In high-quality habitats, males are often [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]]. Females lay five to six [[Bird egg|eggs]] in a cup-shaped nest, which is always situated on the ground and is usually well-hidden in dense vegetation. Both parents feed the young.

===Feeding===
Bobolinks forage on or near the ground and mainly eat [[seed]]s and [[insect]]s. They are nicknamed the "{{visible anchor|armyworm bird}}" because of their predation on large numbers of [[armyworm (disambiguation)|armyworm]]s,<ref name="Capinera-2020" />{{rp|page=453}} including the true armyworm (''[[Mythimna unipuncta]]'') and the fall armyworm (''[[Spodoptera frugiperda]]''),<ref name="Capinera-2018">{{cite web | last=Capinera | first=John L. | title=armyworm, ''Pseudaletia unipuncta'' (Haworth) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) | publisher=[[University of Florida Entomology Department]] | date=December 2018 | url=http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/true_armyworm.htm | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213223255/http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/true_armyworm.htm | archive-date=2017-12-13}}</ref> acting as a natural [[insect pest control|pest control]].<ref name="Capinera-2020">{{cite book | last=Capinera | first=John | title=Handbook of Vegetable Pests | publisher=[[Academic Press]] | publication-place=[[London]], UK; [[San Diego]], Ca, US | year=2020 | isbn=978-0-12-814488-6 | oclc=1152284558 | edition=2 | id={{ISBN|9780128144893}} | pages=xv+799}}</ref>{{rp|page=453}} In Florida, bobolinks feed most often on the Fall armyworm rather than the True armyworm, as the former is more common in the region.<ref name="Capinera-2018" />

===Calls===
Males sing bright, bubbly songs in flight.

==Status and conservation==
During the 1800s the bobolink, like many birds, was slaughtered in large numbers for the meat trade.<ref name="borlaug1971">{{cite speech | url=http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/19b534b8-542a-5fe3-848d-54749881925d/ | last=Borlaug | first=Norman E. | author-link=Norman Borlaug | pages=73 | series=7th McDougall Memorial Lecture | title=Mankind And Civilization At Another Crossroad | website=UN FAO ([[Food and Agriculture Organization]] of the United Nations)}}</ref>{{rp|page=41}}

The numbers of these birds are declining due to [[loss of habitat]]. Bobolinks are a species at risk in Nova Scotia,<ref name="nsfa-fane.ca">{{cite web|url=http://www.nsfa-fane.ca/biolog/?page_id=1073|title=bw logo - Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture|access-date=2015-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717115058/http://www.nsfa-fane.ca/biolog/?page_id=1073|archive-date=2015-07-17|url-status=dead}}</ref> and throughout Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=1087|title=Species Profile (Bobolink) - Species at Risk Public Registry|first=Government of Canada, Environment|last=Canada|access-date=2015-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150717073012/http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=1087|archive-date=2015-07-17|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Vermont]], a 75% decline was noted between 1966 and 2007.<ref name="bfp100625">{{Cite news|last=Page|first=Candace|date=25 June 2010|title=1,100 miles in a day|pages=1A|publisher=Burlington Free Press|location=Burlington, Vermont}}</ref> Originally, they were found in tallgrass [[prairie]] and other open areas with dense grass. Although hay fields are suitable nesting habitats, fields which are harvested early, or at multiple times, in a season may not allow sufficient time for young birds to [[fledge]]. Delaying hay harvests by just 1.5 weeks can improve bobolink survival by 20%.<ref name="nsfa-fane.ca"/> This species increased in numbers when [[horse]]s were the primary mode of transportation, requiring larger supplies of hay.

A 2021 study found that the [[reintroduction]] of [[American bison]] across the United States was detrimental to bobolink populations, with adult populations dropping as much as 62% and juvenile populations as much as 84%. This is presumed to be due to many new bison herds being managed more as [[livestock]] than wildlife, often kept in fenced pastures and protected from predation, which encourages [[overgrazing]], trampling, and rapid multiplying. The study also found that lighter grazing by bison did not have the same harmful effects, demonstrating that the two species could likely coexist under the right circumstances.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kaplan|first1=Rachel|last2=Rosamond|first2=Kristen|last3=Goded|first3=Sandra|last4=Soultan|first4=Alaaeldin|last5=Glass|first5=Alex|last6=Kim|first6=Daniel|last7=Arcilla|first7=Nico|title=Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) Declines Follow Bison (Bison bison) Reintroduction on Private Conservation Grasslands|journal=Animals|volume=11|date=10 September 2021|issue=9|page=2661|doi=10.3390/ani11092661|pmid=34573626|pmc=8471021|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Media references==
[[Emily Dickinson]] penned many poems about or mentioning the bird. [[Edgar Allan Poe]] mentions the bird in "Landor's Cottage". [[William Cullen Bryant]] wrote about the bob-o'-link in his poem "Robert of Lincoln."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bartleby.com/42/747.html|title=747. Robert of Lincoln. William Cullen Bryant. 1909-14. English Poetry III: From Tennyson to Whitman. The Harvard Classics|website=www.bartleby.com|access-date=2020-02-05|archive-date=2020-02-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200205165555/https://www.bartleby.com/42/747.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The bobolink is mentioned in the song '''Evelina''' by [[Harold Arlen]] and [[Yip Harburg]], from the musical ''[[Bloomer Girl]]'':<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6srRKxaPN5EC&q=evelina+what%27s+the+use+of+watermelon+vine&pg=PA191 |title=Who Put the Rainbow in the " Wizard of Oz? ": Yip Harburg, Lyricist - Harold Meyerson, Ernest Harburg - Google Books |isbn=0472083120 |access-date=2013-05-26 |last1=Meyerson |first1=Harold |last2=Harburg |first2=Ernest |year=1995 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |archive-date=2022-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126050645/https://books.google.com/books?id=6srRKxaPN5EC&q=evelina+what%27s+the+use+of+watermelon+vine&pg=PA191 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<blockquote><poem>Evelina, won't ya ever take a shine to that moon?
Evelina, ain't ya bothered by the Bobolink's tune?</poem></blockquote>

The bird is also one of the many important ornithological references in the poem "[[Pale Fire]]" by the fictional poet [[John Shade]], part of [[Vladimir Nabokov]]'s novel of the same name.

[[Sophie Jewett]] ends her poem "An Exile's Garden" (1910) with a reference to a bobolink.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fak-AAAAIAAJ&q=sophie%20jewett%20bob-o-link&pg=PA83 |title=The poems of Sophie Jewett - Sophie Jewett - Google Boeken |access-date=2013-05-26 |last1=Jewett |first1=Sophie |year=1910 |archive-date=2022-01-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126050645/https://books.google.com/books?id=fak-AAAAIAAJ&q=sophie+jewett+bob-o-link&pg=PA83 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The bobolink is also mentioned in the film ''[[The Mouse on the Moon]]'' in connection with the fictional European [[microstate]] of [[Grand Fenwick]], where oddly the bird is apparently common.

The bobolink is also mentioned in the musical ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]''. Words by [[Alan Jay Lerner]].

The bobolink is mentioned in the song, “The Wind,” by Billy Bob Thornton, written by Warren Zevon.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Bobolink (F) 02.jpg|Male, New England, United States
File:Bobolink (F) 01.jpg|Female, New England, United States
File:20210704-Bobo.jpg|alt=Males – Maine|Males – Maine
File:20180525-IMGP0027.jpg|alt=Female – Maine|Female – Maine
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Dolichonyx oryzivorus|Bobolink}}
{{Wikispecies|Dolichonyx oryzivorus}}
*[http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/featured_photo/bird.cfm?pix=Bobolink Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center: Bobolink] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224101050/http://nationalzoo.si.edu/scbi/migratorybirds/featured_photo/bird.cfm?pix=Bobolink |date=2013-12-24 }}
*[http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Bobolink.html Bobolink] – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20131109212106/http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/specialfeatures/animals/birds/bobolink.xml The Nature Conservancy's Grassland Birds: Bobolink]
*[http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i4940id.html Bobolink - ''Dolichonyx oryzivorus''] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* {{InternetBirdCollection|bobolink-dolichonyx-oryzivorus|Bobolink}}
* {{VIREO|Bobolink|Bobolink}}

{{Passeroidea|I.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q591831}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Icteridae]]
[[Category:Birds of North America]]
[[Category:Birds of South America]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Extant Pleistocene first appearances]]