Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Smith's Longspur

Calcarius pictus (Swainson, 1832)

27 gWeight

Smith's longspur (Calcarius pictus) is a bird from the family Calcariidae, which also contains the other species of longspurs.

Busiest months: June · Most records: Canada, United States

Least Concern

Where and when it's recorded

Smith's Longspur has been recorded at 40 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 2 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. ChurchillCanada423 records
  2. Stone Harbor PointUnited States115 records
  3. Oak Hammock Marsh PWMACanada114 records
More places
  1. Whitefish PointUnited States94 records
  2. Pt. Reyes – Abbotts LagoonUnited States41 records
  3. Jones Beach SP – West EndUnited States31 records
  4. Robert Moses SPUnited States26 records
  5. Moonglow DairyUnited States20 records
  6. Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Lincoln Park, ChicagoUnited States17 records
  7. Clover PointCanada16 records

Countries and regions with the most records

CanadaUnited States

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

Smith's longspur (Calcarius pictus) is a bird from the family Calcariidae, which also contains the other species of longspurs. A bird of open habitats, it breeds in northern Canada and Alaska, and winters in the southern United States. Primarily a ground-feeding seed-eater, it supplements its diet with insects in the summer.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Smith's Longspur?

The Smith's Longspur weighs around 27 g.

Where does the Smith's Longspur live?

Its breeding range: North America: northern Alaska and Canada; southeastern Alaska and western Canada. It is most often recorded in Canada and United States.

When is the best time to see the Smith's Longspur?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in June (Northern Hemisphere).

Is the Smith's Longspur endangered?

The IUCN Red List classifies the Smith's Longspur as Least Concern.

What does the Smith's Longspur eat?

Main food: Seeds.

What family is the Smith's Longspur in?

It belongs to the family Longspurs, Snow Buntings (Calcariidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).

At a glance

Weight
27 g
Habitat
Grassland
Diet
Seeds
Lifestyle
Active on the ground
Migration
Migratory
Conservation
Least Concern
More measurements
Wing
91 mm
Tail
63 mm
Bill
13 mm
Tarsus
20 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

North America: northern Alaska and Canada; southeastern Alaska and western Canada

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Order
Passerines Passeriformes
Family
Longspurs, Snow Buntings Calcariidae
Genus
Calcarius

Other birds in the genus Calcarius

Lapland LongspurLapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicusChestnut-collared LongspurChestnut-collared LongspurCalcarius ornatusThick-billed LongspurThick-billed LongspurRhynchophanes mccowniiSnow BuntingSnow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalisMcKay's BuntingMcKay's BuntingPlectrophenax hyperboreus
Smith's Longspur

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from reference photos. ↗

WebP · 1070 px

Heard it but can't see it? Mingji identifies birds by sound and photo, on your phone.

In other languages