" YOU can help make a difference, get involved... "
PCO Press Room
Sponsors
Past Events
COP15
Link to PCO
Lapland Bunting
last update: Mar 25, 2009 02:27 PM
Also known as the Lapland Longspur
Latin name: Calcarius lapponicus
Population: 150 million individuals
Cites classified: Least Concern
Where found: Circumpolar along the northern coasts of Russia, Canada, Scandinavia, and Alaska as well as the southern and western coasts of Greenland
Age/ life expectancy: 6 years on average
Wingspan: 25-28 cm
Length: 15-16 cm
Weight: 20-30 g
Mating/Breeding: Males arrive on the breeding grounds before the females and start to defend and advertise territories. They sing in flight, on the ground, or from a perch (usually a tall weed or wire in their treeless nesting habitat). Once the females arrive, pairing and nesting occurs quickly, as the season is short in these far-northern breeding grounds. The nest, built by the female, is on the ground, usually by a small hummock of sedge, grass, or moss. It is an open cup made from coarse sedge, lined with fine sedge and grass, feathers, or hair. The female incubates the 4 to 6 eggs alone for 10 to 14 days. Both parents help feed the young, which leave the nest at 8 to 10 days of age.
Eggs: 3-7 dark brown eggs, streaked black
Hibernation: migrates south to eastern and central Europe, southern Russia, and southern US in the winter
Hunting Habits: forages on the ground or in low bushes but may jump to catch insects
Feed on: seeds and insects
Predators: weasels and jaegers
Colour/Body: Lapland Buntings are most distinctive in summer plumage, especially the males with their black, white and chestnut heads. In winter though they could easily be mistaken for Reed Buntings but notice the two white wing bars sandwiching an obvious rusty-red wing patch and the black eye standing out in a plain face, with a black surround to the pale ear coverts. The yellow bill and bigger, more lark-like proportions are also useful. Winter males additionally have a rusty nape and black speckles across the breast.
Interesting Trivia:
- Some winter flocks of Lapland Longspurs have been estimated as large as four million birds. During snowstorms, such flocks sometimes collide with lighted structures such as radio towers, and thousands can be killed in a single night.
