Welcome to You Ask Andy

Hazel McKay, age 13, of Shelbyville, Tenn., for the question:

What is a bobolink?

You might say that this little bird is a split personality. Through the summer in the northern and central states he is a gayly dressed songbird, feeding on weed seeds and insect pests. His cheerful bob‑o­LINK, bob‑o‑LINK rises up from the fields and waysides with a jazzy beat. In his northern range where he nests the bobolink is a well loved bird.

But my, how he changes in the fall. He ceases to sing and he even changes his clothes. The natty black, white and primrose plumage becomes the drab brown dross of a sparrow. With flocks of his friends and relatives he migrates south to Brazil. On the way he stops for food, but he has now lost interest in hard‑to‑find weed seeds and insects, Instead, he raids the rice fields of the Southland.

Such a change of personality calls for a change of name. In the Southland the bobolink is called the reedbird, the ortclan or the ricebird. Thousands of these race raiders, grabbing a quick meal on the way south: are a costly threat to the farmers. There are now federal laws which allow the farmers to shoot them.

So far, these laws have made no inroads an the northern bobolink population. In fact, the pretty songbird has done an amazing thing by extending his summer range, Not so long ago, he summered only along the Atlantic coast. As farming spread westward, so did the bobolink. He now goes as far as the Rockies and up into British Columbia.

His route bask to Brazil is so interesting that it might teach us something about the unsolved mysteries of migration. The new generations who have gone west return along the same routes taken by their ancestors. They do riot take a shortcuts southeasterly route. They fly easy, then south to Florida and down to Brazil.

The bobolink returns to his summer range in May. The mother bird, as always, is still dressed like a sparrow. Papa is dressed in a black velvet vest with face to match, black end white back and wings and a soft primrose cap at the back of his head. The nest is built in the tall grasses, and so cleverly woven of weeds, grasses and rootlets that you could pass right by without seeing it. You might even pass by the brown speckled Mamma bird nestled deep on her gracious eggs. The eggs, dull white, splattered and freckled with brown and greys also blend into the background.

In your encyclopedia there is a charming color photo of a bobolink family, The fond Mamma and the, proud Papa. are tending the babies in their grassy home. It is sad that these charmers will turn into reedbirds, alias ortolans, alias ricebirds and make a nuisance.. of themselves in our lovely Southland.

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