- Calcarius pictus
Identification
Orange throat, nape, and underparts, intricate black-and-white face pattern. The white lesser coverts are quite pronounced on a male in spring and early summer. Females and immatures have lightly-streaked buffy underparts, dark crowns, brown wings with less obvious white lesser coverts, dark tails with white outer rectrices and a light-coloured face.
Distribution
Northern Canada and Alaska and the United States in winter.
Taxonomy
This species is monotypic.[1]
Habitat
Open grassy areas.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes seeds, also eating insects in summer. Young birds are mainly fed insects.
Breeding
Three to five eggs are laid in a grass cup nest on the ground; both parents feed the young. Both males and females may have more than one mate.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Smith's Longspur. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Smith%27s_Longspur
