48G MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



In the neighborhood of Detroit Mr. Swales records it only as late as March 

 16, and the latest date on which specimens were killed at Spectacle Reef 

 Light, in northern Lake Huron, was April 23, 1890. According to Mr. 

 Eifrig this species arrived at Fullerton, in the northwestern part of Hudson 

 Bay, from April 7 to April 20, 1904 (Auk, XX, 240), and since these birds 

 nest almost altogether within the Arctic Circle, it is evident that the great 

 majority of them must leave our state long before the first of May. 



It nests only at the far north, building a somewhat bulky, warm nest 

 on the ground, and laying three or four whitish, brown-spotted eggs which 

 average .91 by .64 inches. 



Formerly this species was slaughtered commonly for food and also for 

 milUnery purposes, the beauty of the black, white and brown plumage 

 rendering it particularly attractive as a "hat bird." Fortunately wise 

 legislation and growing public sentiment have largely stopped this business, 

 but during the earlier years when bounties were paid on English Sparrows, 

 thousands of heads of Snow Buntings were palmed off on more or less 

 unsuspecting county clerks as those of Sparrows. 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Bill yellow, its tip dusky; claw of hind toe longer than the toe itself, curved. 



Adult male in winter: Top and sides of head, rump and usually a patch on each side 

 of breast more or less rusty or fawn-colored; back and scapulars mottled with ashy white 

 and pure black, each feather being black centrally, with a broad whitish margin; under 

 parts pure white, often soiled to gray; wings mostly white basally, the terminal half of the 

 primaries clear black, the tertiaries mainly black, edged with rusty; tail with three outer- 

 most pairs of feathers mainly white, the remainder mostly black but with narrow wliite 

 edgings. There is infinite variation in the relative amounts of black, white and rusty 

 on the upper parts, the forehead and crown being often very dark brown, almost blackish. 



Adult female in winter: Similar to male, but the black of wings duller, and only two outer 

 pairs of tail-feathers mainly white. As spring approaches the rusty tints lessen in botli 

 sexes and the black and white become purer and more strongly contrasted. Young birds 

 resemble tlie adult females, but have no white at the base of primaries. 



Length 6 to 7 inches; wing 4 to 4.50; tail 2.70 to 3.15; culmen .39 to .42. Female averag- 

 ing a little smaller than male. 



219. Lapland Longspur. Calcarius lapponicus lapponicus Linn. (536) 



Synonyms : Common Longspur. — Fringilla lapponica, Linn., 1758. — Emberiza lapponica, 

 Bonap., Aud. — Plectrophanes lapponicus, Baird, Coues, 1873. — Centrophanes lapponicus, 

 Coues, Ridgw. — Calcarius lapponicus, A. O. U. Check-list, 1886, and most recent authors. 



Similar in size and general appearance to the Snow Bunting, but usually 

 with a large black patch on the throat and upper breast, and a more or less 

 distinct chestnut "collar" about the back of the lower neck. In spring 

 plumage the black patch is very conspicuous, in fall or winter more or less 

 obscured by white tips of the feathers. The bird also has streaked sides 

 and is distinctly darker on the back than the Snow Bunting. Since it 

 often occurs as a straggler in flocks of Snow Buntings it may be picked 

 out by its conspicuously darker color. The name Longspur refers to the 

 lengthened nail or claw on the hind toe, but this is not distinctive, since 

 the Snow Bunting has one nearly or quite as long and the Horned Lark's 

 is even longer. 



Distribution. — Northern portions of the Northern Hemisphere, breeding 

 far north; in North America south in winter to the northern United States, 

 regularly to the middle states, accidentally to South Carolina, and a])und- 

 antly in the intoi'ior to Kansas and Colorado. 



