Bobolink (various males)

Description:

The male Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, is a striking member of the Icteridae family characterized by a cream-colored cap, white wingbars, and usual mottling along the back. The female appears like a large sparrow, and tends to be more reclusive than the showy males. The call of the Bobolink has been described by F. Schuyler Mathews as “a mad, wreckless song fantasia, an outbreak of pentup, irrepressable glee.” This bird is certainly gleeful, as a chain of them were soaring very low to the ground in a field. Arthur Cleveland Brent described it as “a bubbling delirium of ecstatic music that flows from the gifted throat of the bird." Just before landing, they stick their feet out very far and appear to hover down.

Habitat:

Found in a field at a town park adjacent to my school.

Notes:

First of year! I've been waiting all winter for these birds to come back, I had dreams about them, I painted a picture, and then as I was biking in gym class, I saw them gliding in the fields with their gorgeous markings and song.