dickcissel

/dik sis"euhl/, n.

a bunting, Spiza americana, of the eastern and central U.S., having a brownish back streaked with black and a yellowish breast and in the male a black patch on the throat.

[1885-90; said to be imit. of its call]

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American passerine (Spiza americana, family Fringillidae) bird that eats seeds and breeds in weedy fields of the central U.S. Most dickcissels winter in northern South America, but some stray to the Atlantic coast.

The male, for whose song the species is named, is a streaky brown bird 6.5 in. (16 cm) long, with a black bib on its yellow breast, resembling a miniature meadowlark.

Dickcissel (Spiza americana)

Thase Daniel

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▪ bird

 American bird usually placed in the subfamily Cardinalinae of the family Fringillidae (the Emberizidae of some authors). The male dickcissel—named for its song—is a streaky brown bird 16 cm (6.5 inches) long, with a black bib on its yellow breast, looking somewhat like a miniature meadowlark. Dickcissels are seedeaters. They breed in weedy fields of the central United States and winter in northern South America; some stray to the Atlantic coast in winter.

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