Lapland Longspur

Overview

The Lapland longspur, also known as the Lapland bunting, is a robust passerine bird and the only member of the genus Calcarius found in Eurasia. It is a circumpolar Arctic breeder classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

Identification

• A robust bird with a thick, yellow seed-eater's bill.
• Summer males feature a black head and throat, a white eyestripe, chestnut nape, white underparts, and a heavily streaked black-grey back.
• Other plumages display a plainer orange-brown head, a browner back, and chestnut nape and wing panels.
• Measures 15–16 cm in length with a wingspan of 22–29 cm.
• Common flight calls include a hard "prrrrt" usually preceded by a more nasal "teeww".

Habitat

Breeds in wet tundra, riparian areas, and marshes across Arctic Europe, the Palearctic, Canada, and the northernmost United States. It winters in Russian steppes, the southern United States, and parts of Scandinavia and Great Britain, often foraging in agricultural fields.

Diet

Feeds mainly on seeds such as grass, foxtail, cultivated millet, crabgrass, and wheat during winter, and switches to arthropods during the breeding season. It picks seeds on the ground and catches insects in mid-air, consuming between 3,000 and 10,000 prey items per day depending on energy needs.

Did you know?

In 2011, a male hybrid between a Lapland longspur and a snow bunting was identified in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.