Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Dickcissel (Spiza americana)

Dickcissel [lateral view of singing male]. Photograph Credit: D. A. Downs; Black Oak Rd., White County, Tennessee; 16 May 2009.

Abundance: Very Uncommon during late spring and summer of most years, becoming Uncommon infrequently (perhaps once every two decades, as was the case during 2011); recorded in 24 Regional counties (records lacking for McCreary County, Kentucky, and Morgan County, Tennessee, despite a foray effort in the former county during 2011) (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts suggest a possibly stable trend in the quite small population breeding in the Region (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan), though this population is apparently subject to variation in number that is tied to population dynamics existing elsewhere within the breeding range of this species.

Status: Summer Resident; photograph (above).

Regional High Count and Foray High Count: 110 (3 June 2013; Barren County, Kentucky; m. ob.); SBC/SBB High Count: 39 (18 May 2010; DeKalb County, Tennessee [SBB]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 1 (21 September 2012; Barren County, Kentucky [FBB]; m. ob.)

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually complete by 20 May; the timing of fall departure is poorly understood based on the few data that have been obtained during that season.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).  The only confirmation of breeding obtained in one of the 16 counties in the Tennessee portion of the Region during the Breeding Bird Atlas project in Tennessee (Nicholson 1997) took place in the Burristown 3 block (either Overton or Pickett counties, Tennessee); no confirmation of breeding was obtained in any of the 10 counties in the Kentucky portion of the Region during the Breeding Bird Atlas project in that state (Palmer-Ball 1996). Breeding was confirmed during the 2008 UCR Foray in DeKalb County by the observation of an adult carrying nest material. Breeding was not confirmed in the one block where Dickcissel was recorded during the 2010 UCR Foray in Cumberland County, but confirmation was obtained at the same site later that summer (Edmund K. LeGrand) by the observation of a female carrying food.  Breeding was confirmed during the 2011 UCR Foray in Overton County by the observation of an adult carrying nest material.

Habitat: Various grassland types.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Based on results of UCR Forays conducted through 2011 (see Foray Results [above]), the part of the Region that appears to harbor the most dense population of Dickcissels is the Eastern Highland Rim, running from Smithville, DeKalb County, Tennessee, northeastwardly through Baxter, Putnam County, Tennessee; Livingston, Overton County, Tennessee; to Byrdstown, Pickett County, Tennessee. Another pocket of moderate abundance lies in the counties of Barren, Metcalfe and Monroe, Kentucky.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited