Day 182: Bobolink

The Bobolink is a small blackbird that breeds in North America and winters in South America. One of my online sources offered a great visual description; males look like they are wearing a tuxedo backward, leading some observers to refer to this species as the “skunk blackbird.”

Bobolinks often migrate in flocks, feeding on cultivated grains and rice. They are sometimes considered pests by farmers in certain areas. From what I've seen, Bobolinks tend to quickly pop up from fields, fly around, then drop back down in the vegetation where they can be hard to spot. We saw several Bobolinks in western Maryland a few weeks ago, and I managed to get some photos, even though they were pretty far away.