Smith's Longspur
Calcarius pictus
Sparrowlike ground dweller; crouches low to the ground and walks with pattering footsteps. Breeding male is a unique deep yellow-orange with black-and-white head pattern. Females and nonbreeding birds are more subtle but typically buffier than other longspurs. Also look for long wingtips, thin white eyering, and blurry streaks below. Breeds on Arctic tundra. In winter, look for small flocks in fields with short grass and exposed soil. Not found in mixed flocks. Rattle call similar to Lapland Longspur.
Identification
These birds have short cone-shaped bills, streaked backs, and dark tails with white outer rectrices. In breeding state plumage (mostly formed by worn basic plumage), the male has a pumpkin-orange throat, nape, and underparts contrasting with an 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, and a light-colored face. The tail is identical at all ages.<p>Measurements:
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Calcarius pictus
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1832)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Calcariidae
- Genus
- Calcarius
Range and habitat
This bird breeds in open grassy areas near the tree line in northern Canada and Alaska. In winter, they congregate in open fields, including airports, in the south-central United States. Migration is elliptical, with northbound birds staging in Illinois in the spring and southbound birds flying over the Great Plains in the fall.
- Breeding range
- NA : n Alaska and Canada; se Alaska and w Canada
- Non-breeding range
- sc USA
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
These birds nest in small colonies; males do not defend territory. The female lays three to five eggs in a grass cup nest on the ground. Both males and females may have more than one mate (polygynandry). The parents, one female and possibly more than one male, feed the young birds.<p>These birds forage on the ground, gathering in flocks outside of the nesting season. They mainly eat seeds, also eating insects in summer. Young birds are mainly fed insects.<p>The song is a sweet warble that is inflected at the end, somewhat reminiscent of the chestnut-sided warbler. The call is a dry rattle, like a shortened version of the call of a female brown-headed cowbird, noticeably drier than that of Lapland longspur.<p>Audubon named this bird after his friend Gideon B. Smith.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Small, orange-legged plover with solid dark breast band. Medium-brown upperparts are the color of wet sand, noticeably darker than Piping or Snowy Plovers. Look for short, blunt bill with orange base (often indistinct on juveniles). Feeds on mudflats and beaches, often mixed with other shorebirds. Even when in a flock, individuals are typically spread out rather than remaining a tight unit. Breeds on the tundra or rocky beaches at northern latitudes; winters to southern South America. Migrants are common and widespread, inland and coastal. Listen for distinctive two parted “chu-weep!” calls, and assorted chortles and chuckles.
Andaman Bulbul
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A rather plain, rotund bulbul with a dark forehead, face, and throat. The upperparts are greenish, but note the dark olive edges to the wings and the dark tail band. The underparts and tail tips are yellow. Often silent and inconspicuous as it moves through the forest understory and lower canopy. The song consists of metallic tinkling notes, while the calls include soft single- and double-noted metallic sounds.
Red-footed Booby
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Large seabird of offshore tropical waters around the globe; not seen from the mainland. Adult plumage is variable, but all have bright red feet and colorful bill and face; some have wholly brown plumage, others are white with a black trailing edge to the wings; the tail can be black or white. Immatures of all types are brown overall with dull pinkish feet. Looks smaller and more slender than other boobies, with more crooked wings. Nests on offshore islands (usually in trees and bushes, unlike other boobies, which nest on the ground).
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