Editing Dickcissel (section)

==Behaviour and ecology==
===Breeding===
The birds migrate to their breeding range rather late, with the first arriving only in May, with most birds only arriving in early June.<ref name=Henninger/><ref name=OOS/> They nest near the ground in dense grasses or small shrubs, or up to {{convert|3|–|4|ft|cm|abbr=on}} high in bushes and trees. Males may have up to six mates, with most attracting only one or two, and several failing to attract any mates at all. Yet if such "bachelors" survive until the next summer, they will get another try to attract females, as the partners only stay together for raising one brood. Dickcissels are thus among the few [[songbird]]s that are truly [[Polygyny in animals|polygynous]]. When they leave for winter quarters by early August or so,<ref name=OOS/> what little pair bond existed during the summer is broken up.

===Feeding===
Dickcissels forage on the ground or in fields. They mainly eat [[insect]]s and [[seed]]s. Outside of the nesting season, they usually feed in flocks. They are considered a pest by farmers in some regions because flocks can consume large quantities of cultivated [[cereal|grain]]s.

Dickcissel populations frequently fluctuate in numbers, even to the extent that their range changes notably. In the early 19th century, dickcissels expanded eastward, establishing a population in [[New England]] and the [[mid-Atlantic states]] that disappeared around the end of the century. Both appearance and disappearance were probably related to changes in land use.<ref name=Temple/>