Dickcissels

MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
edited July 9, 2007 in Wildlife
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
Dickcissel.jpg

Male with a juicy lunch.
Dickcissel_Prey.jpg

Some dickcissels are grouped together here. They were eating the seeds they found in the trees.
dickcissels.jpg

Comments

  • HarrybHarryb Registered Users, Retired Mod Posts: 22,708 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    Good captures of a difficult subject. thumb.gif
    Harry
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  • Dick on ArubaDick on Aruba Registered Users Posts: 3,484 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    Neat captures of birds carrying my name.

    Thanks for sharing,

    Dick.



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  • emmalouemmalou Registered Users Posts: 412 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    They look similar to Pine Grosbeaks we have here.they are secretive.
  • dbaker1221dbaker1221 Registered Users Posts: 4,482 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    good captures & interestingclap.gif thanks!
    **If I keep shooting, I'm bound to hit something**
    Dave
  • HarvHarv Registered Users Posts: 1,105 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    Neat looking birds. Nice catch. Their beaks look like small grosbeaks.
  • ShepsMomShepsMom Registered Users Posts: 4,319 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    Nice catch Stephen, on the 2nd shot, what is it in it's beak? Looks like a giant grasshopper! lol
    Marina
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  • MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    Harryb wrote:
    Good captures of a difficult subject. thumb.gif

    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.
  • MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    ShepsMom wrote:
    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
  • MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    Harv wrote:
    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.
  • MaestroMaestro Registered Users Posts: 5,395 Major grins
    edited July 9, 2007
    emmalou wrote:
    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. mwink.gif
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