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Dickcissel

Status Uncommon vagrant. The first record was of a bird collected on Sable Island on 12 September 1902 (Dwight 1903). The next was of a bird killed by an automobile near North Sydney on 3 December 1929 (Smith 1938). The species was not recorded again until 1952 but has been reported virtually annually since then.

It is much less regular in spring. A very early bird at a feeder at the Head of St. Margaret's Bay, Halifax County, on 17 March 1976 (A. Mills) could have wintered somewhere in the region. A dozen others have occurred between 8 April and 7 June, and individuals appeared on Sable Island between 28 June and 1 July 1968 and on 24 June 1970. Over 350 autumn migrants have been reported, generally single birds but sometimes in groups of up to 15. They have routinely appeared first in August (average 7 September, earliest 1 August), but most have occurred in September and October, and a few into December, especially at feeders. They do not appear to tolerate our winters. The latest straggler on the mainland was in Halifax on 3 January 1971. Two birds that appeared on Sable Island on 20-21 February 1970 may have been attempting to winter somewhere in the region.

Remarks It is noteworthy that most of our records are recent. Is this a real increase or merely due to the greater number and abilities of observers? Although yellow-breasted and black-bibbed adult males are distinctive, young birds in autumn are similar to, and often associated with, House Sparrows.

Why so many of these birds appear in Nova Scotia from their breeding range in the mid-western and southern United States is particularly puzzling because the species normally winters from southern Mexico to northern South America.