The Dickcissel nests in the east-central portion of the United States and breeds irregularly in Canada (Godfrey 1986). There are no surveys in Canada that monitor this species. However, data from the Breeding Bird Survey for Canada and North America, which includes mainly birds from the United States, suggest that the current breeding population is relatively similar to that of the early 1970s. Earlier declines are attributed to targeted control programs on the wintering grounds in Venezuela, where Dickcissels are considered serious agricultural crop pests (Temple 2002).
The Dickcissel has adapted more successfully than most grassland birds to the loss of native grasslands on the Great Plains. These birds now seem to prefer fallow agricultural fields and hayfields to native prairie for breeding, and feed extensively on grain crops on their wintering range (Temple 2002). They have been targeted by chemical poisoning campaigns in Venezuela to control damage to rice and sorghum crops; these programs were likely the cause of the population decline in the 1960s and 1970s (Temple 2002).
Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:
Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.