Bobolink

bobolink (sometimes spelled bobalink), Dolichonyx oryzivorus, a small N. American bird which migrates southwards and fattens on wild rice, after which it becomes a prized table delicacy. They are commonly offered in the markets, in this condition, as reed or rice birds, being called bobolinks only when alive and further north, in the summer. All this is explained by de Voe (1866), who said that in his time they had many admirers among epicures when they were at their best, in the autumn.