The dickcissel is 5.5-6.3 inches (14-16 cm) in length with a wingspan of 9.8-10.2 inches (24.9-25.9 cm).
It has a short tail and a heavy, cone-shaped bill. The male has a gray head, back, and belly, and brown shoulders. He has a bright yellow breast with a black bib and yellow “eyebrows.”
The female is brown on her underside and, unlike the male, does not have a black bib, yellow breast, or “eyebrows.”
The dickcissel is found in grain fields and weedy areas.
Dickcissel populations may shift when food sources change.
The dickcissel forages on the ground for seeds and insects. In the winter, dickcissels feed in flocks and are considered pests by farmers.
The female dickcissel lays 3-5 eggs in a nest in the grass or in a bush close to the ground. The eggs hatch in 13-15 days, and the chicks fledge (develop flight feathers) when they are 9-10 days old.
The dickcissel has a lifespan of 4-5 years.
The dickcissel was once a common bird in the farmlands of the eastern United States. There are still small, isolated populations found on the east coast.
The dickcissel is currently placed in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae. Scientists have debated for many years which birds it is most closely related to because it shares features with several different groups of birds.
In the past, it was classified with New World sparrows in the family Passerellidae and later with blackbirds and orioles in the family Icteridae.
Today, scientists use DNA evidence along with physical traits to better understand how the dickcissel is related to other birds.
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While the dickcissel does not breed or winter in New Hampshire, it occasionally shows up in the state as a vagrant*.
*Vagrant birds are usually migratory birds that stray from their migratory path by accident or sometimes because of a storm.
The dickcissel is found in the central United States from North Dakota south to Texas and east to Ohio and Tennessee, and Alabama.
It winters from southern Mexico to South America.
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