Passeriformes / Calcariidae / Calcarius
Lapland Longspur
Calcarius lapponicus · 铁爪鹀
Introduction
A passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, this species is a circumpolar arctic breeder and the only member of the genus Calcarius present in Eurasia. It breeds in wet tundra, riparian areas, and marshes, switching diet from seeds in winter to arthropods in summer.
Description
A robust bird with a thick yellow seed-eater's bill. Length: 5.9–6.3 in (15–16 cm); Weight: 0.8–1.2 oz (22.3–33.1 g); Wingspan: 8.7–11.4 in (22–29 cm). The summer male has a black head and throat, white eyestripe, chestnut nape, white underparts, and a heavily streaked black-grey back. Other plumages feature a plainer orange-brown head, browner back, and chestnut nape and wing panels.
Identification
Key marks include the thick yellow bill and, in breeding males, the black head with chestnut nape. Non-breeding plumages are plainer with orange-brown heads. Flight call is a hard 'prrrrt' usually preceded by a nasal 'teeww'. Breeding song includes a softer 'duyyeee' followed by a pause and 'triiiuuu'.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds across Arctic Europe, the Palearctic, Canada, and the northernmost United States. Migratory, wintering in Russian steppes, southern United States, Northern Scandinavian arctic areas, coastal Southern Sweden, Denmark, and Great Britain. Five subspecies are recognized: C. l. subcalcaratus (north Canada and Greenland), C. l. lapponicus (north Europe and north Asia), C. l. kamtschaticus (northeast Siberia), C. l. alascensis (extreme east Siberia, Alaska, northwest Canada), and C. l. coloratus (Commander Islands).
Behavior & Ecology
Ground-nesting bird building cup nests on heavily-vegetated slopes or among tussocks in low-lying wet areas; lays average of 5 eggs per brood. Diet consists mostly of seeds in winter (grass, foxtail, millet, crabgrass, wheat) and arthropods in summer (especially Dipteran larvae and adults). Consumes 3,000–10,000 prey items daily. Often forms mixed-species flocks in winter with horned larks and snow buntings. A hybrid with snow bunting was identified in 2011 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Calcariidae
- Genus
- Calcarius
Subspecies (5)
-
Calcarius lapponicus alascensis
breeds far eastern Siberia, Alaska, and northwestern Canada; winters to western USA
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
