The Lapland Longspur or Lapland Bunting, Calcarius lapponicus, is a passerine

Passerine

A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...

 bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

 in the longspur

Longspur

The Longspurs, genus Calcarius, are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the McCown's Longspur, Rhyncophanes mccownii, which is now placed in a separate genus.These are chunky ground-feeding birds with...

 family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae (Old World finch

Finch

The true finches are passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. They are predominantly seed-eating songbirds. Most are native to the Northern Hemisphere, but one subfamily is endemic to the Neotropics, one to the Hawaiian Islands, and one subfamily – monotypic at genus level – is found...

es).

It breeds across Arctic Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and the northernmost USA. It is migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

, wintering in the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n steppes, the southern USA, Northern Scandinavian arctic areas and down to coastal Southern Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 and Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

. This is the only Eurasia

Eurasia

Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...

n species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of the longspur

Longspur

The Longspurs, genus Calcarius, are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the McCown's Longspur, Rhyncophanes mccownii, which is now placed in a separate genus.These are chunky ground-feeding birds with...

 buntings, and while it probably did not evolve

Evolution

Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...

 there, it has been present in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...

 for at least about 30,000 years (Tomek & Bocheński 2005).

The Lapland Longspur is a robust bird, with a thick yellow seed-eater's bill. The summer male has a black head and throat, white eyestripe, chestnut nape, white underparts, and a heavily streaked black-grey back. Other plumages have a plainer orange-brown head, a browner back and chestnut nape and wing panels.

The most common flight call is a hard "prrrrt" usually preceded by a more nasal "teeww". When breeding, it also makes a softer "duyyeee" followed by a pause and a "triiiuuu"; both sounds alternate.

It breeds in wet areas with birch or willow, and or bare mountains, and winters on cultivated land or coasts. The bird is often seen close to the tree line, and likes to feed in mixed-species flocks in winter. Its natural food consists of insects when feeding young, and otherwise seeds. The nest is on the ground. 2-4 eggs are laid.

External links

• Avibase links in turn to Flickr Handguide pics.
• Lapland Longspur Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• Lapland Longspur - Calcarius lapponicus - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
• Lapland Longspur Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding
• Calcarius lapponicus videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Stamps (for Canada
  Canada
  Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
  
  ) with Circum-Polar Range-Map
• "Lapland Longspur" photo gallery VIREO
• OBC 5 photographs (see pulldown menu at page bottom)

Book

• Hussell, D. J. T., and R. Montgomerie. 2002. Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus). In The Birds of North America, No. 656 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Thesis

• Custer TW. Ph.D. (1974). POPULATION ECOLOGY AND BIOENERGETICS OF THE LAPLAND LONGSPUR (CALCARIUS LAPPONICUS) NEAR BARROW, ALASKA. University of California, Berkeley, United States, California.

• Hunt KE. Ph.D. (1997). Testosterone, estrogen, and breeding behavior in an Arctic bird, the Lapland longspur. University of Washington, United States, Washington.

• Male SK. M.Sc. (2004). Reproductive ecology of the Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) near a diamond mine. Trent University (Canada), Canada.

• Mullie A. M.Sc. (1991). Song of the Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus): Social factors contributing to dialect stability. Queen's University at Kingston (Canada), Canada.

Articles

• Addis E, Wacker D, Clark A, Coverdill A, Meddle S, Walker B, Landys M, Reneerkens J & Wingfield JC. (2004). Influence of habitat condition on breeding in Plectrophenax nivalis and Calcarius lapponicus. Integr Comp Biol. vol 44, no 6. pp. 672–672.

• Andena L. (1979). The Lapland Longspur Calcarius-Lapponicus near Milan Italy. Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia. vol 49, no 1. pp. 24–27.

• Benes B. (1974). The Occurrence of Calcarius-Lapponicus in Czechoslovakia. Casopis Slezskeho Muzea Serie A Vedy Prirodni. vol 23, no 2. pp. 113–114.

• Bennike O & Dyck J. (1986). A SUBFOSSIL LAPLAND BUNTING CALCARIUS-LAPPONICUS FEATHER FROM VOLVEDAL, NORTH GREENLAND. Ornis Scandinavica. vol 17, no 1. pp. 75–77.

• Boal CW & Andersen DE. (2005). Microhabitat characteristics of Lapland Longspur, Calcarius lapponicus, nests at Cape Churchill, Manitoba. Can Field-Nat. vol 119, no 2. pp. 208–213.

• Brugger F & Baula R. (1975). Calcarius-Lapponicus on the Orbe Plain. Ornithologische Beobachter. vol 72, no 3.

• Catuneanu II. (1980). Presence of the Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in Romania. Travaux du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle "Grigore Antipa". vol 21, pp. 249–252.

• Crins B. (2004). Lapland Longspur feeding on "hidden" grains. Ontario Birds. vol 22, no 1. pp. 34–35.

• Custer TW. (1973). Snowy Owl Predation on Lapland Longspur Nestlings Recorded on Film. Auk. vol 90, no 2. pp. 433–435.

• Custer TW, Osborn RG, Pitelka FA & Gessaman JA. (1986). Energy Budget and Prey Requirements of Breeding Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus near Barrow Alaska USA. Arctic & Alpine Research. vol 18, no 4. pp. 415–428.

• Custer TW & Pitelka FA. (1977). DEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF A LAPLAND LONGSPUR POPULATION NEAR BARROW, ALASKA. Auk. vol 94, no 3. pp. 505–525.

• Custer TW & Pitelka FA. (1978). Seasonal Trends in Summer Diet of the Lapland Longspur near Barrow Alaska USA. Condor. vol 80, no 3. pp. 295–301.

• Enderlein R. (1988). Observation of 2 Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus near Herzhausen-Edersee West Germany in the Cold Winter of 1986-87. Vogelkundliche Hefte Edertal. vol 14, pp. 19–21.

• Endes M. (1977). The Lapland Longspur Calcarius-Lapponicus in Hungary. Allattani Kozlemenyek. vol 64, no 1-4. pp. 41–44.

• Fernbach J. (1960). Occurrence of the Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in Backa Topola. Larus. vol 14, no 155.

• Fox AD, Francis IS, Madsen J & Stroud JM. (1987). The Breeding Biology of the Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in West Greenland During Two Contrasting Years. Ibis. vol 129, no 4. pp. 541–552.

• Fox AD, Francis IS, McCarthy JP & McKay CR. (1992). Body Mass Dynamics of the Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in West Greenland. Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift. vol 86, no 2. pp. 155–162.

• Francis IS, Fox AD, McCarthy JP & McKay CR. (1991). Measurements and Moult of the Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in West Greenland. Ringing & Migration. vol 12, no 1. pp. 28–37.

• Gibson DD. (1986). CALCARIUS-LAPPONICUS COLORATUS IN THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA. Auk. vol 103, no 3. pp. 635–636.

• Gibson DD. (1986). Calcarius-Lapponicus-Coloratus in the Aleutian Islands Alaska USA. Auk. vol 103, no 3. pp. 635–636.

• Hunt K, Wingfield JC, Astheimer LB, Buttemer WA & Hahn TP. (1995). TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF TERRITORIAL BEHAVIOR AND CIRCULATING TESTOSTERONE IN THE LAPLAND LONGSPUR AND OTHER ARCTIC PASSERINES. Am Zool. vol 35, no 3. pp. 274–284.

• Hunt KE, Hahn TP & Wingfield JC. (1999). Endocrine influences on parental care during a short breeding season: testosterone and male parental care in Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol. vol 45, no 5. pp. 360–369.

• Hunt KE & Wingfield JC. (1998). Exogenous estradiol and reproductive behavior in female lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus). Am Zool. vol 38, no 5.

• Hunt KE & Wingfield JC. (2004). Effect of estradiol implants on reproductive behavior of female Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus). Gen Comp Endocrinol. vol 137, no 3. pp. 248–262.

• Hussell DJT. (1974). Photographic Records of Predation at Lapland Longspur and Snow Bunting Nests. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 88, no 4. pp. 503–506.

• Knochenmuss F. (1972). Calcarius-Lapponicus and Haliaetus-Albicilla on the Elbe near Prettin. Falke. vol 19, no 8.

• Lapous E. (1988). The Lapland Longspur Calcarius-Lapponicus in Sarthe First Case of Wintering in Continental France. Alauda. vol 56, no 4. pp. 437–438.

• Lee JC. (1978). LAPLAND LONGSPUR IN SOUTHEASTERN MEXICO. Condor. vol 80, no 4. pp. 452–453.

• Lenz M. (1972). On the Occurrence of Calcarius-Lapponicus in the Area of Berlin. Ornithologische Mitteilungen. vol 24, no 8. pp. 171–172.

• Madsen J. (1982). Timing of Breeding and Reproductive Success in a Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus Population in Eqalungmiut-Nunaat West Greenland. Dansk Ornitologisk Forenings Tidsskrift. vol 76, no 3-4. pp. 137–145.

• McLaughlin RL & Montgomerie RD. (1985). Brood Division by Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus. Auk. vol 102, no 4. pp. 687–695.

• McLaughlin RL & Montgomerie RD. (1985). Flight Speeds of Central Place Foragers Female Lapland Longspur Calcarius-Lapponicus Feeding Nestlings. Animal Behaviour. vol 33, no 3. pp. 810–816.

• McLaughlin RL & Montgomerie RD. (1989). BROOD DISPERSAL AND MULTIPLE CENTRAL PLACE FORAGING BY LAPLAND LONGSPUR PARENTS. Behav Ecol Sociobiol. vol 25, no 3. pp. 207–215.

• McLaughlin RL & Montgomerie RD. (1989). EARLY NEST DEPARTURE DOES NOT IMPROVE THE SURVIVAL OF LAPLAND LONGSPUR CHICKS. Auk. vol 106, no 4. pp. 738–741.

• Mueller H, Ackermann G & Sadlik J. (1984). Breeding Period Observations of Anthus-Campestris Saxicola-Torquata and Calcarius-Lapponicus in the Subalpine Regions of the Riesengebirge Krkonose Czechoslovakia. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde. vol 30, no 4-5. pp. 320–322.

• Orr CD, Gillis DJ & Valdron LG. (1980). Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus and Other Passerines in Davis Strait and Labrador Sea Canada 1977–1979. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 94, no 2. pp. 185–187.

• Ouellet H. (1991). SAVANNAH SPARROW ATTENDS NEST OF LAPLAND LONGSPUR. Bird Behaviour. vol 9, no 1-2. pp. 30–33.

• Rucner D. (1970). Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in the Zagreb Environs. Larus. vol 20, no 97.

• Schekkerman H. (1989). Autumn Migration and Biometrics of Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus at Castricum Noord-Holland Netherlands. Limosa. vol 62, no 1. pp. 29–34.

• Schiehmann H. (1973). Calcarius-Lapponicus in the Neuwieder Basin. Emberiza. vol 2, no 4. pp. 189–190.

• Sean KM & Erica N. (2005). Impacts of roads associated with the Ekati Diamond Mine(TM), Northwest Territories, Canada, on reproductive success and breeding habitat of Lapland Longspurs. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 83, no 10. p. 1286.

• Seastedt TR. (1980). Diets of Young Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus in Arctic and Subarctic Alaska USA. Condor. vol 82, no 2. pp. 232–233.

• Seastedt TR & Maclean SFJ. (1977). Calcium Supplements in the Diet of Nestling Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus near Barrow Alaska. Ibis. vol 119, no 4. pp. 531–533.

• Seastedt TR & Maclean SFJ. (1980). Polygyny and Nest Spacing in Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus a Hypothesis. Animal Behaviour. vol 28, no 1. pp. 313–314.

• Sedinger JS. (1986). 2 ADULT MALE LAPLAND LONGSPURS, CALCARIUS-LAPPONICUS, FEED THE SAME FLEDGLING. Can Field-Nat. vol 100, no 2. pp. 269–270.

• Sedinger JS. (1986). Two Adult Male Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus Feed the Same Fledgling. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 100, no 2. pp. 269–270.

• Tomialojc L. (1970). Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in Poland. Acta Ornithologica. vol 12, no 2. pp. 42–46.

• Tryon PR & Maclean SF. (1980). Use of Space by Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus Breeding in Arctic Alaska USA. Auk. vol 97, no 3. pp. 509–520.

• Vidal A. (1977). Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus on the Danube near Kiefenholz-Opf. Anzeiger der Ornithologischen Gesellschaft in Bayern. vol 16, no 2/3.

• West GC & Peyton LJ. (1980). Fatty-Acids of Depot Lipids in Migrating Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol 51, no 2. pp. 138–143.

• West GC & Peyton LJ. (1980). Food Habits of Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus During Spring Migration in Southern Yukon Territory Canada. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 94, no 4. pp. 451–454.

• West GC, Peyton LJ & Irving L. (1968). Analysis of Spring Migration of Lapland Longspurs to Alaska USA Calcarius-Lapponicus-Alascensis. Auk. vol 85, no 4. pp. 639–653.

• Williamson FSL & Emison WB. (1971). Variation in the Timing of Breeding and Molt of the Lapland Longspur Calcarius-Lapponicus in Alaska with Relation to Differences in Latitude. Bioscience. vol 21, no 12. pp. 701–707.

• Wingfield JC, Suydam R & Hunt K. (1994). The adrenocortical responses to stress in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) and Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) at Barrow, Alaska. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology C Pharmacology Toxicology & Endocrinology. vol 108, no 3. pp. 299–306.

• Wright JM. (1981). Response of Nesting Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus to Burned Tundra on the Seward Peninsula Alaska USA. Arctic. vol 34, no 4. pp. 366–369.

• Yesou P. (1983). The Lapland Bunting Calcarius-Lapponicus in Brittany with a Discussion of Its Distribution and Migrations in France and the Rest of Europe. Alauda. vol 51, no 3. pp. 161–178.