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Lapland Longspur

Calcarius lapponicus

Least Concern (IUCN Red List)Longspurs and Snow Buntings
Lapland Longspur, photographed by Wildreturn

Photo: Wildreturn · Wikimedia · CC-BY 2.0 (licence)

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Call and song

About the Lapland Longspur

Sparrowlike ground-dweller; crouches low to the ground and walks with pattering footsteps. Breeding male is gorgeous and unmistakable: yellow bill, black face, broad white eyebrow, and bright rufous nape unlike any other bird. Females and nonbreeding birds are much more subtle. Habitat and habits provide good clues: often in flocks in winter, sometimes mixed with Horned Larks or Snow Buntings, on barren landscapes such as beaches or dirt fields. To separate from other longspurs, look for combination of face pattern, rufous nape, and rufous wing panel with white tips. Breeds on Arctic tundra, where males sing a tinkling warble. Can also be heard giving "teew" notes and rattle calls like Snow Buntings and other longspurs.

Species account: eBird.org, fetched 2025-12-26 · How these pages are made

Where it has been recorded

Recorded in 59 of the 253 countries we have eBird lists for. Each opens that country's checklist.

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