Smith's Longspur
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| Smith's Longspur | ||||||||||||||
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| Calcarius pictus (Swainson, 1832) |
The Smith's Longspur, Calcarius pictus, is a small ground-feeding bird from the family Emerizidae which also contains the American sparrows.
These birds have a short cone-shaped bill, a streaked back and a dark tail with white outer feathers. In breeding plumage, the male has yellow throat, nape and underparts and a black face with a white line over the eye and a white spot on the cheek. Other birds have light brown streaked underparts, a dark crown, brown wings and a light-coloured face.
This bird breeds in open grassy areas near the tree line in northern Canada and Alaska. The female lays 3 to 5 eggs in a grass cup nest on the ground. These birds nest in small colonies; males do not defend territory. Both males and females may have more than one mate. The parents, one female and possibly more than one male, feed the young birds.
In winter, they migrate in flocks to open fields, including airports, in the south central United States.
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.
The song is a warbled seet seet seet. The call is a dry rattle.
Audubon named this bird after his friend, Gideon B. Smith.