dickcissel

American  

[dik-sis-uhl] / dɪkˈsɪs əl /

noun

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of dickcissel

First recorded in 1885–90; said to be imitative of its call

Example Sentences

He also detected the dickcissel, a grassland bird that I have never seen in our area.

From Salon

Dickcissel birds and blackbirds dart about to gather food, mate and protect nests.

From Washington Post

A chorus of dickcissel birds sang as blackbirds dipped, dived and screeched at humans strolling dangerously close to their nests.

From Washington Post

The specimen that Audubon used to paint Townsend’s Bunting is now in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, identified as Townsend’s Dickcissel, but no bird exactly like it has been reported, Dr. Olson, an authority on Audubon’s work, noted in an email.

From New York Times

Ornithologists suggest that it is either a mutation of the Dickcissel or a hybrid of Dickcissel and Blue Grosbeak, she said.

From New York Times