Dickcissel
Common
Name: Dickcissel (DICK)
Scientific
Name:
Spiza
americana
Global/Continental
Conservation Status: Not
on IUCN 2004 Red List
National-level
Conservation Status:
U.S.
– Bird of Conservation Concern
Key
Reference(s):
BNA No. 703 (Temple 2002);
USGS
Northern
Prairie
Wildlife
Researth
Center
document (Dechant et al. 2003)
Distribution:
Breeds from e Montana, s Saskatchewan, s Manitoba, w and s
Minnesota, n Wisconsin, n Michigan, s Ontario, and c New York south to ne
Wyoming, e Colorado, ne New Mexico (rarely), w and s Texas, s Louisiana, c
Mississippi, c (rarely s) Alabama, c and se Georgia, and South Carolina,
at least formerly also in the Atlantic lowlands from Massachusetts to
North Carolina; breeding sporadic and irregular in e portion of range.
Winters from Nayarit south, primarily along the Pacific slope,
through Middle America to n and e Colombia, Venezuela (most abundant
wintering area), Trinidad, and the Guianas, locally in small numbers also
in coastal lowlands from s New England south to Florida and west to
coastal and s Texas, casually north to the s Great Lakes region and
northwest to e Colorado (AOU 1998).
Habitat
Associations:
Grassland, meadows, savanna, cropland (especially alfalfa), and
brushy fields; in migration and winter, also a variety of open country,
second growth, and scrub (AOU 1998).
Source(s)
of Research/monitoring Needs (Number in ( ) is Physiographic Area number):
Mississippi Alluvial Valley Bird Conservation Plan (05) Osage
Plains Bird Conservation Plan (33); Upper Great Lakes Plain Bird
Conservation Plan (16); New Mexico Bird Conservation Plan; Canadian Action
Plan (Dunn 2002); Texas Avian Research Projects- TARP (Texas Partners in
Flight 2001; BNA No. 703 (Temple 2002); PIF Monitoring Needs document
(Partners in Flight Science Committee 2004)
PIF
Continental Plan Monitoring Needs Category: ** (Long-term population
trend monitoring considered adequate, but some issues (e.g., bias) may not
be accounted for)
RESEARCH/MONITORING NEEDS (source(s) of needs)
Monitoring
- Priority
monitoring action – NOTE: Breeding
Bird Survey (BBS) provides acceptable data at the continental level (PIF
Monitoring Needs doc)
- Periodically
assess status of peripheral population in
Canada
(Canadian Action Plan)
- see
needs under "Wintering"
Habitat
Needs/Ecology/Life History
- Information
on life history in DICK (including descriptions of many behaviors,
vocalizations, descriptions of nest predators, determining truth of
theory of rearing of 2nd late brood in northern part of range after
rearing early initial brood in southern part of range) (BNA)
Effects
of Management Practices
- Breeding
phenology and productivity of DICK in agricultural lands (
New Mexico
)
- Effects
of grassland management practices - Effects grassland management (burning, grazing, prairie
restoration, herbicide applications, and mowing) have on habitat used
by DICK (patch size, territories, nesting habitat, and fledgling
survival) (TARP - statewide); Effects of annual burns across large
landscapes on DICK populations (Osage Plains); Investigate intensive
rotational grazing for opportunities for grassland birds (Upper Great
Lakes Plain)
- Determine
the effects of wild-caught caged song bird trade in the
US
, Latin America, and
Caribbean
- see
needs under "Demography"
Landscape
- Information
on whether/how landscape characteristics affect DICK abundance &
reproductive success (Osage Plains)
- Identify
large areas of grasslands within this region as targets for
conservation and restoration; apply GIS models developed for grassland
birds in other ecoregions (Upper Great Lakes Plain)
- see
needs under "Effects of Management Practices"
Wintering
- Close
monitoring of overwinter survival is important for management since
control efforts on winter range appears to determine population size
(BNA)
Demographics
- Compare
nesting success of DICK in agriculture, native grassland, and
shrubland (TARP - statewide)
- See
needs under "Wintering"
Habitat
Restoration
- Monitor
the response of breeding grassland birds, including DICK, to habitat
restoration (Mississippi
Alluvial
Valley)
[Link to References]
[Link
to PIF Bird Conservation Plans]
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