Unlimited edition. 18 x 24 inch, museum-quality poster on matte paper.

“Robert of Lincoln is gayly dressed,

Wearing a bright, black wedding-coat;

White are his shoulders, and white his crest,

Hear him call in his merry note,

Bob-o’-link, bob-o’-link,

Spink, spank, spink,

Look what a nice, new coat is mine;

Sure there was never a bird so fine.”

- from William Cullen Bryant’s “Robert Of Lincoln”

The bobolink is a New World blackbird. The male is sometimes called the “skunk blackbird,” and other descriptions have him wearing a “backwards tuxedo.” Personally, it’s the cream of wheat rear crown and nape that most draws my eye. The curious common name doesn’t have much to do with the bird’s appearance, however. The bobolink has many calls and a very complicated song, but “bobolink” is apparently based on the insistence by some 19th century bird nerds that they heard the phrase “Robert of Lincoln” repeated in the bird’s repertoire. (I don’t hear it – the bobolink sounds to me very much like a red-winged blackbird, though my ear is not as skilled as I’d like.) In time, that mnemonic phrase was shortened to “Bob of Lincoln,” and eventually to “Bob o’ Linc.”

Those aren’t the bird’s only names, however. Once best known as the "rice bird" in the southeastern United States, the species has long been vilified by farmers as a pest due to its targeting of cultivated grains, especially rice fields, during the winter and migration. In Jamaica, bobolinks are still called “butter birds” because of their reputation as delicious, rice-fattened treats. Because Jamaica is one of the bobolink’s major migratory stopovers, they’re killed for the table as they pass through; the same was once true in the States. Although over-hunting and trapping for the pet trade are ongoing threats in the migratory and wintering range of the species, loss of suitable nesting habitat is the main conservation concern here in the US, where the bird breeds. Fortunately, most ornithologists believe the species is not in immediate jeopardy, as it’s proven to be very adaptable. If you don’t like bobolink, skunk blackbird, rice bird, or butter bird, you could always call it the “long clawed rice eater.” (The genus name, Dolichonyx, translates as "long claw,” and the specific name, oryzivorus, means “devourer of rice.”)

Note: These archival poster prints feature rich, appealing colors. I encourage customers to take care in handling them until they are framed/protected for display; the darker colors on the matte paper can be scratched. They ship rolled, so customers need to flatten them before framing (or have their framer do so).

Charitable Sales Model: Whenever one of these poster prints is purchased, a charitable contribution equal to 10% of the print’s cost (or $3.60) is made to a nonprofit working to tackle environmental or social challenges. Read more about my charitable sales model here.