Lapland Longspur

The Lapland Longspur is a robust, sparrow-sized bird with a thick yellow seed-eater's bill and long hind claws. A summer male has a black head and throat, white eyebrow, chestnut nape, pale underparts, and a strongly streaked black-grey back. Females, immatures, and winter males are plainer, with orange-brown heads, browner backs, chestnut napes, and chestnut wing panels. Adults are about 15–16 centimetres long, weigh 22.3–33.1 grams, and span 22–29 centimetres across the wings. (Wikipedia, Lapland Longspur account)

This circumpolar migrant breeds across Arctic Europe, Asia, Canada, and the northernmost United States. Breeding habitat includes wet tundra, riparian ground, and marshes; the cup nest is placed on the ground among tussocks or dense vegetation on a slope. A brood averages five eggs. After breeding, many birds move south to steppes and other open country. They feed mainly on seeds outside the nesting season, while arthropods become especially important during summer and are gathered for growing chicks. (Wikipedia, Lapland Longspur account)