# Lapland Longspur

*Calcarius lapponicus*

The 'longspur' name comes from its unusually long and straight hind claw, which is thought to help the bird walk and maintain balance on snowy or mossy terrain.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Calcariidae › Calcarius
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** decreasing
- **Biome:** tundra
- **Habitat:** Breeds in wet tundra and sedge meadows; winters in open grasslands, prairies, and stubble fields.
- **Diet:** Omnivorous; primarily feeds on seeds from grasses and weeds, but switches to insects and spiders during the summer breeding season.
- **Range:** Arctic North America, Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, Northern United States, Central Europe
- **Size:** Length: 15-16 cm; Weight: 22-31 g
- **Lifespan:** 3-6 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Climate change causing shrub encroachment on tundra breeding grounds and habitat loss in wintering prairies due to intensive agriculture.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. These birds are shy and easily startled. Maintain a distance of at least 15 meters to avoid disrupting their foraging or nesting. If found in agricultural fields during winter, observe from a vehicle or fence line to prevent flushing the flock.

## About

The Lapland longspur ( Calcarius lapponicus ), also known as the Lapland bunting , is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae (Old World finches).

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/7e392c01-fdcf-4df6-80af-edfe379cfbae
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/116840
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcarius lapponicus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/355035748/medium.jpg (Вячеслав Юсупов, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.