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snow bunting


n.

A finch (Plectrophenax nivalis) of northern regions, having predominantly white winter plumage. Also called snowflake.


 
 
Animal Encyclopedia: Snow bunting

Plectrophenax nivalis

TAXONOMY

Emberiza nivalis Linnaeus 1758, Lapland. Two subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Snowflake, snowbird; French: Bruant blanc; German: Schneeammer; Spanish: Escribano Nival.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

6–7.5 in (15–19 cm); 1.5 oz (42 g). Sexes differ in color. Males in summer have a white head, a black back sometimes mottled with brown, a black rump mottled with white, white outer tail feathers partially tipped with black, and white underparts. In winter, the white areas are washed with pale rusty brown.

Females in summer resemble breeding males, but the crown is dusky and black areas are paler, often brownish. In winter they resemble winter males. Juveniles are grayish with pale bellies.

DISTRIBUTION

Circumpolar. Breeds from Iceland, northern Scotland, the mountains of Norway and Sweden, Spitzbergen, Franz Joseph Land, north Kola Peninsula, Novaya Zemlya, northern Russia and northern Siberia east to Wrangel Island, the Bering Strait, and south to east Kamchatka, northern Alaska and mountains of Alaska, northern Canada north to Labrador, and the coast of Greenland. Winters south to British Isles, coast of northern France, Denmark, Germany, Poland, southern Russia, Manchuria, Korea, Kuril Islands, and Hokkaidō, and in North America to western and southern Alaska and from central and southern Canada south along the Pacific coast to northern California, the central Plains, and coastal North Carolina. P. n. insulae breeds in Iceland, and P. n. vlasowae breeds in northeast Russia east through Siberia and to the Bering Strait.

HABITAT

Breed in the high Arctic in sparse, dry, rocky areas such as shores, mountain slopes, and rocky outcrops. During migration and winter they are characteristically found in field, pastures, roadsides, and along the shore.

BEHAVIOR

Males arrive on the breeding grounds well before females. When the weather begins to warm, they establish territories, and chasing, flight-singing, and fights are common. When on the ground, they run rather than hop. In winter they are often found in fairly large flocks. As they move through a field, they appear to roll along like blowing snow as the birds at the back of the flock leap-frog over those toward the front. Although they generally stay on the ground, they sometimes will fly up into a tree. They are sometimes associated with horned larks (Eremophila alpestris) and Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus).

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

They feed on the ground. In summer they take insects and other invertebrates, but in winter they eat principally seeds and grain.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Most are monogamous, but individuals of either sex may have two mates. Nesting takes place from late May through July. The nest, which is a large thick-walled bulky cup of dried sedges, grasses, and lichens, is placed on the ground, often in a crevice in rocks. They lay three to nine (usually four to seven) eggs. Incubation lasts 10–15 days, and the young fledge after 10–17 days. Both parents feed the young.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.

 
Western Bird Guide: snow bunting


Plectrophenax nivalis 6-7½″ (15-19 cm). Snow Buntings often swirl over snowy fields in large flocks. No other songbird (except McKay's Bunting) shows so much white. In winter some individuals, especially females, may look quite brown, but when they fly their flashing white wing patches identify them. Overhead, Snow Buntings look almost entirely white, whereas American Pipits and Horned Larks are black-tailed. In summer in the Arctic the male has a black back, contrasting with its white head and underparts.

Voice: Note, a sharp, whistled teer or tew; also a rough, purring brrt. Song, a musical ti- ti-chu-ree, repeated.

Range: Arctic, circumpolar; in winter to cen. Eurasia, cen. U.S.

Habitat: Prairies, fields, dunes, shores. In summer, tundra.

 
WordNet: snow bunting
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: white arctic bunting
  Synonyms: snowbird, snowflake, Plectrophenax nivalis

 
Wikipedia: Snow Bunting


Snow Bunting
Male in breeding plumage
Male in breeding plumage
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Emberizidae
Genus: Plectrophenax
Species: P. nivalis
Binomial name
Plectrophenax nivalis
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Snow Bunting, (Plectrophenax nivalis), is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group separated by most modern authors from the Fringillidae (Old World finches). It is the sister species of the Beringian McKay's Bunting, with which it reputedly hybridizes in Alaska[citation needed].

This bird is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere. There is a small isolated population on the high mountain tops of Scotland. The breeding habitat is treeless moors, tundra and bare mountains. During the last ice age, the species was widespread throughout continental Europe (Tomek & Bocheński 2005).

It is migratory, wintering in northern temperate areas. In winter, it forms mobile flocks, usually on coasts. It shows little fear of humans.

In flight, its large white wing patches easily identify this 15.5-18 cm long species. The breeding male is unmistakable, with all white plumage and a black back. Other plumages are pale ginger above and white below. The bill is yellow with a black tip (all black in summer males). Unlike most passerines, it has feathered tarsi, an adaptation to its harsh environment. No other passerine can winter as far north as this species apart from the Common Raven.

The call is a distinctive rippling whistle, "per,r,r,rit" and the typical Plectrophenax warble "hudidi feet feet feew hudidi".

The Snow Bunting builds its bulky nest in rock crevices. Blue-green brown-spotted eggs hatch in two weeks, and in another fortnight the young are already ready to fly.

Cultural references

The Snow Bunting is referred to in the novel Kristnihald undir Jökli (Christianity under the Glacier) by Halldór Laxness:

Pastor Jón: In school debates the question was sometimes put whether God was not incapable of creating a stone so heavy that He couldn't lift it. Often I think the Almighty is like a snow bunting abandoned in all weathers. Such a bird is about the weight of a postage stamp. Yet he does not blow away when he stands in the open in a tempest. Have you ever seen the skull of a snow bunting? He wields this fragile head against the gale, with his beak to the ground, wings folded close to his sides and his tail pointing upwards; and the wind can get no hold on him, and cleaves. Even in the fiercest squalls the bird does not budge. He is becalmed. Not a single feather stirs.
Embi: How do you know that the bird is the Almighty, and not the wind?
Pastor Jón: Because the winter storm is the most powerful force in Iceland, and the snow bunting is the feeblest of all God's conceptions.

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Old painting (lower two birds are Lapland Longspurs

Adult breeding male, US

Adult breeding male, Iceland

References

  • Tomek, Teresa & Bocheński, Zygmunt (2005): Weichselian and Holocene bird remains from Komarowa Cave, Central Poland. Acta zoologica cracoviensia 48A(1-2): 43-65. PDF fulltext

External links

Further reading

Book

  • Lyon, B., and R. Montgomerie. 1995. Snow Bunting and McKay’s Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis and Plectrophenax hyperboreus). In The Birds of North America, No. 198–199. (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.

Thesis

  • Lyon BE. M.Sc. (1984). Why male snow buntings feed their mates evolutionary and ecological considerations. Queen's University at Kingston (Canada), Canada.

Articles

  • Abuladze AV. (1977). The 1st Occurrence of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis New-Record in the Georgian-Ssr Ussr. Soobshcheniya Akademii Nauk Gruzinskoi SSR. vol 85, no 2. p. 453-456.
  • Addis E, Wacker D, Clark A, Coverdill A, Meddle S, Walker B, Landys M, Reneerkens J & Wingfield JC. (2004). Influence of habitat condition on breeding in Plectrophenax nivalis and Calcarius lapponicus. Integr Comp Biol. vol 44, no 6. p. 672-672.
  • Banks KW, Clark H, Mackay IRK, Mackay SG & Sellers RM. (1989). Biometrics and Pre-Migratory Fattening in the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis. Ringing & Migration. vol 10, no 3. p. 141-158.
  • Banks KW, Clark H, Mackay IRK, Mackay SG & Sellers RM. (1991). Origins Population Structure and Movements of Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis Wintering in Highland Region Scotland Uk. Bird Study. vol 38, no 1. p. 10-19.
  • Behrend FW. (1971). A Snow Bunting in the Roan Mountain Area. Migrant. vol 42, no 3.
  • Behrend FW. (1971). Snow Bunting in Upper East Tennessee. Migrant. vol 42, no 3. p. 64-65.
  • Bolton M, Medeiros R & Fraga H. (2001). Potential flight range of Snow Buntings Plectrophenax nivalis occurring in the Azores islands in late March: A first analysis. Arquipelago Boletim da Universidade dos Acores Ciencias Biologicas e Marinhas.
  • Bryan K, Gallucci T & Moldenhauer R. (1978). 1st Record of the Snow Bunting for Texas USA. American Birds. vol 32, no 5.
  • Campbell RW & Van Der Raay BM. (1985). 1st Breeding Record of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis for British-Columbia Canada. Wilson Bulletin. vol 97, no 1. p. 128-129.
  • Campbell RW & Vanderraay BM. (1985). FIRST BREEDING RECORD OF THE SNOW BUNTING FOR BRITISH-COLUMBIA. Wilson Bulletin. vol 97, no 1. p. 128-129.
  • Custer TW & Pitelka FA. (1975). CORRECTION FACTORS FOR DIGESTION RATES FOR PREY TAKEN BY SNOW BUNTINGS (PLECTROPHENAX-NIVALIS). Condor. vol 77, no 2. p. 210-212.
  • Deunert J. (1990). The Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis in Bautzen Germany at the Beginning of May. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde. vol 36, no 5. p. 302-303.
  • Dierschke J. (2001). [Origin, migration routes and population size of Shorelarks (Eremophila alpestris), Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) and Twites (Carduelis flavirostris) wintering in Europe.]. Vogelwarte. vol 41, no 1. p. 31-43.
  • Dierschke J. (2002). Food preferences of Shorelarks Eremophila alpestris, Snow Buntings Plectrophenax nivalis and Twites Carduelis flavirostris wintering in the Wadden Sea. Bird Study. vol 49, no 3. p. 263-269.
  • Dierschke J. (2003). Food preferences of shorelarks Eremophila alpestris, snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis and twites Carduelis flavirostris wintering in the Wadden sea (vol 49 pg 263, 2002). Bird Study. vol 50, p. 96-96.
  • Dolman PM. (1995). The intensity of interference varies with resource density: Evidence from a field study with snow buntings, Plectrophenax nivalis. Oecologia. vol 102, no 4. p. 511-514.
  • Espmark Y. (1995). Individual and local variations in the song of the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) on Spitsbergen. Bioacoustics. vol 6, no 2. p. 117-133.
  • Genero F. (1991). Wintering of snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis in the Carnic Alps. Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia. vol 61, no 3-4. p. 135-136.
  • Green GH & Summers RW. (1975). SNOW BUNTING MOLT IN NORTHEAST GREENLAND. Bird Study. vol 22, no 1. p. 9-17.
  • Groenwald W. (1975). The Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis on the Baltic Sea Coast in June. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde. vol 21, no 6.
  • Hofstad E, Espmark Y, Moksnes A, Haugan T & Ingebrigtsen M. (2002). The relationship between song performance and male quality in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis). Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 80, no 3. p. 524-531.
  • Hopkins JR. (1985). SNOW BUNTING FEEDING ON SEA-SLATERS. British Birds. vol 78, no 11. p. 597-597.
  • Hoset KS, Espmark Y, Moksnes A, Haugan T, Ingebrigtsen M & Lier M. (2004). Effect of ambient temperature on food provisioning and reproductive success in snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis in the high arctic. Ardea. vol 92, no 2. p. 239-246.
  • Hussell DJT. (1974). Photographic Records of Predation at Lapland Longspur and Snow Bunting Nests. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 88, no 4. p. 503-506.
  • Hussell DJT. (1985). On the Adaptive Basis for Hatching Asynchrony Brood Reduction Nest Failure and Asynchronous Hatching in Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis. Ornis Scandinavica. vol 16, no 3. p. 205-212.
  • Jackson JA & Cooley CD. (1978). Snow Bunting a New Species for Mississippi USA. American Birds. vol 32, no 2. p. 268-269.
  • Jaschke K & Kirsch D. (1970). Observations of Plectrophenax-Nivalis in the Winter of 1969-1970. Ornithologische Mitteilungen. vol 22, no 10.
  • Jukema J. (2005). How reliable are sex assignments of Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis skins in museum collections?. Limosa. vol 78, no 2. p. 75-78.
  • Jukema J & Fokkema J. (1992). Origin of Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis Wintering in the Netherlands. Limosa. vol 65, no 2. p. 67-72.
  • Knochenmuss F. (1970). Plectrophenax-Nivalis in the District of Torgau East Germany. Falke. vol 17, no 10.
  • Koller J. (1971). Plectrophenax-Nivalis Winter Guest in Bavaria. Ornithologische Mitteilungen. vol 23, no 3.
  • Kukal O & Pattie DL. (1988). Colonization of Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis Nests by Bumblebees Bombus-Polaris in the High Arctic. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 102, no 3.
  • Kumerloeve H. (1970). On the Strong Migration of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis and More Observations on the Island Spiekeroog in the North Sea. Ornithologische Mitteilungen. vol 21, no 10. p. 213-215.
  • Lauermann H. (1974). Plectrophenax-Nivalis near Horn Northern Austria. Egretta. vol 17, no 1. p. 39-40.
  • Lyon BE & Montgomerie RD. (1985). Incubation Feeding in Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis Female Manipulation or Indirect Male Parental Care. Behavioral Ecology & Sociobiology. vol 17, no 3. p. 279-284.
  • Marzocchi JF. (1978). 1st Observation of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis New-Record in Corsica France. Alauda. vol 46, no 1. p. 97-98.
  • Oeser R. (1990). Meteorological Aspects of the Occurrence of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis L. in the Fichtelberg Region Germany. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde. vol 36, no 6. p. 327-333.
  • Oeser RE. (1984). The Wintering of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis in the Fichtelberg Area East Germany. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde. vol 30, no 3. p. 162-168.
  • Olioso G. (1972). Winter Observations on Plectrophenax-Nivalis in Avignon. Alauda. vol 40, no 2. p. 171-174.
  • Olioso G. (1973). Wintering of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis in Southern Mediterranean France. Alauda. vol 41, no 3. p. 227-232.
  • Orr CD, Gillis DJ & Valdron LG. (1980). Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis Lapland Longspurs Calcarius-Lapponicus and Other Passerines in Davis Strait and Labrador Sea Canada 1977-1979. Canadian Field Naturalist. vol 94, no 2. p. 185-187.
  • Pandolfi M. (1987). Wintering and Summering of the Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis in the Marches Italy. Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia. vol 57, no 1-2. p. 115-116.
  • Pannach D. (1987). The Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis in Mala Fatra Slovakia Czechoslovakia. Beitraege zur Vogelkunde. vol 33, no 2.
  • Richard B. (1999). Meditation upon a Snow Bunting. The Southern Review. vol 35, no 4. p. 662.
  • Rodland JT & Iversen A. (1970). Breeding Snow Bunting in Sor-Rogaland. Sterna. vol 9, no 3. p. 189-190.
  • Romero LM, Soam KK, O'Reilly KM, Suydam R & Wingfield JC. (1998). Hormones and territorial behavior during breeding in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis): An Arctic-breeding songbird. Hormones & Behavior. vol 33, no 1. p. 40-47.
  • Romero LM, Soma KK & Wingfield JC. (1998). Changes in pituitary and adrenal sensitivities allow the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), an Arctic-breeding song bird, to modulate corticosterone release seasonally. Journal of Comparative Physiology B Biochemical Systemic & Environmental Physiology. vol 168, no 5. p. 353-358.
  • Rucner D. (1971). Data on the Arrival of the Snow Finch Montifringilla-Nivalis-Nivalis and Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis-Nivalis in the Area of the Yugoslav Ornitho Fauna. Larus. vol 2, p. 37-39.
  • Sandberg R, Backman J & Ottosson U. (1998). Orientation of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) close to the magnetic north pole. Journal of Experimental Biology. vol 201, no 12. p. 1859-1870.
  • Sandberg R & Pettersson J. (1996). Magnetic orientation of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis), a species breeding in the high arctic: Passage migration through temperate-zone areas. Journal of Experimental Biology. vol 199, no 9. p. 1899-1905.
  • Schnebel G. (1968). Snow Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis in Uelzen. Ornithologische Mitteilungen. vol 20, no 3.
  • Sealy SG. (1969). Apparent Hybridization between Snow Bunting and Mckays Bunting on St-Lawrence Island Alaska USA. Auk. vol 86, no 2. p. 350-351.
  • Smith RD. (1992). Age Determination Wing-Feather Colour and Wing-Length Change in Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis. Ringing & Migration. vol 13, no 1. p. 43-51.
  • Smith RD. (1996). Racial composition of breeding and wintering snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis in the north-east Scottish uplands. Ringing & Migration. vol 17, no 2. p. 123-136.
  • Smith RD & Marquiss M. (1995). Production and costs of nesting attempts in snow buntings Plectrophenax nivalis: Why do they attempt second broods?. Ibis. vol 137, no 4. p. 469-476.
  • Smith RD & Metcalfe NB. (1997). Why does dominance decline with age in wintering snow buntings?. Animal Behaviour. vol 53, p. 313.
  • Straka U. (1991). Contribution to the Occurrence of the Snow-Bunting Plectrophenax-Nivalis L. on Farmland of Lower Austria During the Winters of 1984-85 to 1988-89. Egretta. vol 34, no 1. p. 34-41.
  • Thiede W. (1982). Snow Buntings Plectrophenax-Nivalis Roosting in the Snow. Ornis Fennica. vol 59, no 1. p. 37-38.
  • Watson A. (1996). Scottish snow bunting Plectrophenax nivalis breeding and climate. Ornis Fennica. vol 73, no 3. p. 137-140.
  • Watson A & Smith R. (1991). Scottish Snow Bunting Numbers in Summer 1970-1987. Scottish Birds. vol 16, no 2. p. 53-56.
  • Wingfield JC, Suydam R & Hunt K. (1994). The adrenocortical responses to stress in snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) and Lapland longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) at Barrow, Alaska. Comparative Biochemistry & Physiology C Pharmacology Toxicology & Endocrinology. vol 108, no 3. p. 299-306.
  • Yngve E. (1999). Song of the snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) in areas with and without sympatric passerines. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol 77, no 9. p. 1385-1392.

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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