Plectrophenax nivalis
summer male
The sexes of this plump songbird are dissimilar. Summer adult males are mainly white but with a black back, outer flight feathers, leading edge of the wing, and tail center. The bill is black. Males in winter are similar, but the back feathers have orange-buff fringes and there is a similar color on parts of the face, wings, and flanks. The fringes wear during winter, revealing black and white plumage by spring. The bill is yellow. Adult females resemble a seasonal counterpart male, but white plumage elements are suffused orange-buff and black feathers are fringed brown. Juveniles are streaked brown but by winter they resemble winter adults, but with an orange-buff suffusion on the face and underparts. All birds show extensive white in the wings in flight.
The Snow Bunting is a tundra breeding species, mainly from May to September. At other times, it forms roaming flocks and migrates south. Its winter range extends across southern Canada and northern and central U.S.A.
immature
FACT FILE
LENGTH 6.75 in (17 cm)
FOOD Invertebrates in summer; mainly seeds at other times
HABITAT Tundra in summer; short grassland in winter
STATUS Widespread and common summer visitor; widespread in winter but its precise range is unpredictable
VOICE Song is a series or warbling whistles. Calls include a soft tiu, often given in flight
