A small songbird with a large flat head, a short neck, and a short tail. Breeding males are black below and black and white above with a yellowish patch on the back of the head.
Females and nonbreeding males are warm buffy brown, with bold brown stripes on the crown and dark brown streaking on the back and flanks. The bill is pinkish.
Males sing from perches just above the tops of the grass, or during display flights. Song is bubbly and rambling, with a mixture of sharp high notes and buzzy low pitches.
Long-bodied with a short tail and flat head. From behind breeding males have a white rump, white shoulders, and a yellowish patch on the back of the head.
Rather big headed and short necked. Breeding males are entirely black below with a straw colored patch on the back of the head.
Males sing while flying low over fields with exaggerated, fluttery wingbeats.
Small songbird with a pointed bill, flat head, and short tail. Females/nonbreeding birds are warm brown below with streaking on the flanks. Note pinkish bill, unstreaked nape, and dark eyeline.
Females/nonbreeding males have bold buffy and brown streaks down the back, but have an unstreaked nape. Note dark eyeline and brown stripes on the crown.
Females and nonbreeders are buffy with bold dark streaks and strong dark stripes on the crown and through the eye.
Females and nonbreeding males are sometimes confused for sparrows, but note Bobolink's larger size, golden-yellow plumage, and unstreaked nape.
In spring, male Bobolinks give conspicuous display flights low over grasslands, fluttering their wings while singing. Note white rump in flight.
Somewhat sparrowlike in appearance, but note overall warm buffy tone, dark streaks, and bigger bill than sparrows.
Found in tall grasslands, uncut pastures, overgrown fields, meadows, and prairies.
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Bobolinks are small songbirds with large, somewhat flat heads, short necks, and short tails. They are related to blackbirds and orioles, and they have a similar shaped, sharply pointed bill.
Larger than a Field Sparrow; smaller than a Red-winged Blackbird.
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