Bird Album
Lapland Longspur
Calcarius lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
≈16 cmLength26 cmWingspan28 gWeight
In summer, the male has a black head and throat, with a chestnut nape like a neckerchief.
Busiest months: October · Most records: United States, Canada, United Kingdom
How to identify
Field marks
- Male in summer plumage has a black head and throat
- Male in summer plumage has a white eyestripe and chestnut nape
- Male in summer plumage has a densely streaked black-and-gray back
- Thick, stout yellow bill
Male, female and young
The male in summer plumage has a black head and throat; in other plumages the head is plainer and orange-brown.
Voice
In flight, it often gives a nasal “teeww” followed by a hard “prrrrt”.
Where and when it's recorded
Lapland Longspur has been recorded at 752 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 45 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- St. Paul IslandUnited States8,237 records
- GambellUnited States6,270 records
- Whitefish PointUnited States2,765 records
More places
- Hammonasset Beach SPUnited States1,745 records
- Southeast Farallon IslandUnited States1,154 records
- Hawk Ridge Nature ReserveUnited States862 records
- Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Lincoln Park, ChicagoUnited States821 records
- Teslin Lake – Teslin Lake Bird ObservatoryCanada754 records
- Baie-du-FebvreCanada683 records
- Oak Hammock Marsh PWMACanada619 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The Lapland longspur (Calcarius lapponicus), also known as the Lapland bunting, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is a circumpolar arctic breeder and the only member of the genus Calcarius present in Eurasia.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Lapland Longspur?
The Lapland Longspur is about ≈16 cm long, with a wingspan of 26 cm and weighs around 28 g.
Where does the Lapland Longspur live?
Its breeding range: North America, Palearctic: northern. It is most often recorded in United States, Canada and United Kingdom.
When is the best time to see the Lapland Longspur?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in October (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Lapland Longspur endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Lapland Longspur as Least Concern.
What does the Lapland Longspur eat?
Main food: Seeds.
What family is the Lapland Longspur in?
It belongs to the family Longspurs, Snow Buntings (Calcariidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈16 cm
- Wingspan
- 26 cm
- Weight
- 28 g
- Habitat
- Grassland
- Diet
- Seeds
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 95 mm
- Tail
- 68 mm
- Bill
- 12 mm
- Tarsus
- 21 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
North America, Palearctic: northern
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Subspecies · 1
- Calcarius lapponicus coloratus Commander Is. | non-breeding: ec China
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Longspurs, Snow Buntings Calcariidae
- Genus
- Calcarius
Other birds in the genus Calcarius
Smith's LongspurCalcarius pictus
Chestnut-collared LongspurCalcarius ornatus
Thick-billed LongspurRhynchophanes mccownii
Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
McKay's BuntingPlectrophenax hyperboreus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Yinan Li. ↗
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