PDA

View Full Version : Dickcissels

Maestro
Jul-09-2007, 07:35 AM
These are birds that up until a few weeks ago I simply wrote off as sparrows. They are about sparrow sized birds, but they are actually part of the cardinal family and inhabit pretty much all the midwest of the US from Canada to the Texas/Mexico border. They are fun birds to watch as they group together in trees and eat the seeds and or insects they find.

Male calling or at least he was the milisecond before I snapped this pic. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/Dickcissel.jpg

Male with a juicy lunch.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/Dickcissel_Prey.jpg

Some dickcissels are grouped together here. They were eating the seeds they found in the trees.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v116/maestros/Nature/Small%20Birds/dickcissels.jpg
Harryb
Jul-09-2007, 09:03 AM
Good captures of a difficult subject. :thumb
Dick on Aruba
Jul-09-2007, 09:09 AM
Neat captures of birds carrying my name.

Thanks for sharing,

Dick.
emmalou
Jul-09-2007, 10:11 AM
They look similar to Pine Grosbeaks we have here.they are secretive.
dbaker1221
Jul-09-2007, 02:05 PM
good captures & interesting:clap thanks!
Harv
Jul-09-2007, 02:10 PM
Neat looking birds. Nice catch. Their beaks look like small grosbeaks.
ShepsMom
Jul-09-2007, 03:15 PM
Nice catch Stephen, on the 2nd shot, what is it in it's beak? Looks like a giant grasshopper! lol
Maestro
Jul-09-2007, 04:30 PM
Good captures of a difficult subject. :thumb

Thanks. They are quick but quite photogenic. In bright sunlight I just thought they were lark or savannah sparrows but when I finally got one in a frame I saw that they were a bit different.
Maestro
Jul-09-2007, 04:31 PM
Nice catch Stephen, on the 2nd shot, what is it in it's beak? Looks like a giant grasshopper! lol

That is a big, green, juicy grasshopper. You know? The kind that is good covered in chocolate or is anything good covered in chocolate? :D
Maestro
Jul-09-2007, 04:32 PM
Neat looking birds. Nice catch. Their beaks look like small grosbeaks.

Hey, Harv. If I am not mistaken they are in the same family as grosbeaks thus the similarity.
Maestro
Jul-09-2007, 04:34 PM
They look similar to Pine Grosbeaks we have here.they are secretive.

You and Harv think alike. They are in the same family, but not the same genus or at the very least they are allies to grosbeaks. It's sort of like distant cousins. :wink