THE SMITH'S LONGSPUR. 



{Calcarius pictus.) 



Smith's Longspur, or the Painted 

 Longspur, as it is frequently called, has 

 an interesting range which is long and 

 narrow. It breeds in the western inte- 

 rior of the far north from the Arctic 

 coast and upper Yukon Valley, south- 

 ward for an undetermined distance. In 

 the winter it migrates southward through 

 the western portion of the Mississippi 

 Valley, where it finds feeding grounds 

 on the Great Plains and prairies as far 

 south as Texas. Its winter visitations 

 also extend more or less frequently east 

 of the Mississippi River, where it may 

 be found, at times, quite abundant on 

 the prairies of southern Wisconsin and 

 northern Illinois. Unlike its relative, the 

 Lapland longspur, wdiich is found 

 throughout the northern portion of the 

 northern hemisphere, this species is 

 strictly a bird of America. The habits of 

 the two species are very similar, and 

 while the adult colors of the males of 

 the two species are not alike, those of 

 the females resemble each other. They 

 are easily distinguished, however, by the 

 color of the legs, those of the Lapland 

 longspurs, being black or dusky, while 

 those of Smith's are yellow. 



During their migrations and in the 

 winter, the Smith's Longspurs are gen- 

 erally found in large flocks. Flocks of 

 this and the Lapland species often min- 

 gle when flying, but it would seem that 

 they seldom if ever alight together. Mr. 

 Frank M. Woodruff says that his ob- 

 servations of the two species would in- 

 dicate that while the feeding habits of 

 the two species are much alike. Smith's 

 Lon.o^spur prefers the* higher and drier 

 portions of the prairie, while the Lap- 

 land selects the lower and wetter areas. 

 In the eastern portion of its winter 

 range, Smith's iLongspur is often very 

 irregular in its appearance. In the north- 

 eastern portion of Illinois Mr. Wood- 



ruft" says that its visits are at long inter- 

 vals ; at times appearing in countless 

 numbers and at other times only in 

 straggling pairs. 



Air. E. W. Nelson, who also studied 

 the habits of Smith's Longspurs during 

 their winter visits to northern Illinois, 

 says : "When flushed they invariably 

 uttered a sharp clicking note, rapidly re- 

 peated several times. Wlien driven from 

 their feeding place by my approach, they 

 would rise, in a loose flock, and after 

 wheeling about a few times start off in 

 a direct line, gradually rising higher un- 

 til they disappeared. After a short timej 

 their peculiar note would be heard, and 

 darting down from a considerable height 

 they would alight near the place from 

 which they were driven." The Long- 

 spurs feed upon the ground and often 

 in such large numbers that a large field 

 seems alive with them. They run easily 

 and quickly and seldom arise imless 

 frightened by the 'too near approach of 

 an intruder. When they do arise from 

 the ground, they utter several sharp 

 clicking notes and fly for a short dis- 

 tance in an easy undulating manner 

 when they drop suddenly and perpendic- 

 ularly to the ground. At other times, 

 these birds will spend some time in the 

 air, flying in circles and uttering an al- 

 most continuous chirping call. During 

 their migration flights the flocks often 

 fly at great heights, so high that they are 

 often scarcely perceptible, yet the con- 

 stantly uttered notes may be readily rec- 

 ognized by one who is familiar with 

 them. 



The charming song of the male Long- 

 spurs is heard only during the mating 

 season and is unfortunately heard only 

 by those who frequent the more northern 

 portion of the range. Like the skylarks, 

 they sing wdiile they soar, flying upward 

 from a slight elevation of ground; and 

 according to Mr. Thompson, who stud- 



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