This Bobolink Dolichonyx oryzivorus was photographed in Sidney, Maine
Bobolinks are one of my favorite birds. There are several unique and I think really cool facts about Bobolinks, but I just think it is always cool to see them because they flutter around overgrown fields, sing boldly, and are so different from most of the passerines I get to see.
Bobolinks are uber-long distance migrants, breeding in in the northern parts of the United States and southern Canada, but spending the winter in South America. Most neotropic migrants simply fly south to their wintering area and are relatively stationary once there. Bobolinks after breeding fly south to spend a few weeks in Venezuela, and then continue on to Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. This is a round trip of over 20,000 km. Individual Bobolinks have been shown to live at least 10 years, so in their life time a Bobolink might fly the distance of 5 times around the earth at the equator just in migration!
Bobolink range map from eBird. The lack of South American sightings likely reflects less eBird reports from that region.
In addition Bobolinks live in dense vegetation, which is causes intense wear on their feathers. As a coping mechanism Bobolinks undergo two complete feather molts annually. Almost all other birds undergo just one annual complete molt.
This shows a typical place to see a Bobolink, in tall grass.
Bobolinks differ from all of our other passerines in that they are black below and light above. This may serve them well in their largely grassland habitat, making them hard to see from above. Females are much more cryptically colored.
In addition Bobolinks were one of the first species to be proven to be polyandrous, meaning that females often have a clutch with several different males fertilizing different eggs.
Good birding. Steem on!
