bobolink

American  

[bob-uh-lingk] / ˈbɒb əˌlɪŋk /

noun

1. a common North American songbird, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, that winters in South America.

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bobolink British  

/ ˈbɒbəˌlɪŋk /

noun

1. Also called (US): reedbird.   ricebird.  an American songbird, Dolichonyx oryzivorus , the male of which has a white back and black underparts in the breeding season: family Icteridae (American orioles)

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Etymology

Origin of bobolink

1765–75, short for Bob o' Lincoln, the bird's call as heard by speakers of English

Example Sentences

And the bobolink, known for its robust songs and long-distance travels to South America.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 25, 2023

Combined waterfowl populations have increased by 37 million in the Prairie Pothole Region since 1990, even as forest birds like the Kentucky warbler and grassland birds like the bobolink have been in prolonged decline.

From Slate • May 10, 2018

Other new breeding species include the eastern meadowlark, known for its sharp call; the blue grosbeak, a striking blue relative of the cardinal; and the bobolink, a bumblebee-colored blackbird that migrates 12,500 miles annually.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2016

No matter what happens you were always my bobolink, my special Linda Gray.

From Time Magazine Archive

The fields beyond have been brought back to a good state of cultivation and present a beautiful green tract beyond which stretch rich meadows with waving grass where flit the bobolink and the red-winged blackbird.

From Remodeled Farmhouses by Northend, Mary H.