Page 403 - Complete Birds of Britain and Europe (DK - RSPB)

BUNTINGS
Order Passeriformes Family Emberizidae Species Plectrophenax nivalis
Snow Bunting white head

black back
and wingtips
dark grey head
small white and back white
wing patch stocky body below
with short legs
IMMATURE red- or orange-
brown cap
black and cheeks
tail with
white MALE (SUMMER)
sides JUVENILE
dark-tipped
MALE (WINTER)
white yellow bill
wings
sandy brown
back
red-brown
black breast sides brown cap
IN FLIGHT wingtips
black and brown streaks
on back (plumage
greyer in summer)
MALE short black
(WINTER) legs
n summer, Snow white
IBuntings are in the underside
far north or on the FEMALE
highest peaks, usually (WINTER)
where snow is still present.
In winter, they roam widely over
high ground, from ski resorts to barren, FLIGHT: bouncy, erratic, as if swept by wind, with
exposed mountainsides, but are more easily seen where they flurries of wingbeats and deep undulations; long wings.
winter on the coast. Flocks prefer shingle banks and sheltered,
muddy or gravelly marshes just inland of the beach, sometimes
mixed with other buntings, finches, and larks.Their complex
face and chest patterns may be confusing but the extensive
white areas seen when they fly are good clues.
VOICE Loud call deep, clear pyew or tsioo, frequent lighter,
trilling, rippling tiri-lil-il-il-il-ip; song short, clear, ringing phrase.
NESTING Nest of moss, lichen, and grass stems in cavity
among rocks; 4–6 eggs; 1 or 2 broods; May–July.
FEEDING Takes insects in summer, mainly seeds and strandline ATTRACTED BY SEEDS
invertebrates on beaches in winter. Snow Buntings can be attracted to patches of seeds scattered
on the ground at the edge of a shingle beach in winter.
SIMILAR SPECIES
OCCURRENCE
REED BUNTING 2 LAPLAND BUNTING Breeds very locally in N Scotland,
similar to 32 juvenile; see p.402
winter; Iceland, and N Scandinavia, on
see p.395 tundra or similar mountain top
streaked habitat. In winter, on coasts in S to
below N France and inland E Europe, at
fringes of breeding range.
Seen in the UK
J F M A M JJ A S O N D
Length 16–17cm (6 1 ⁄2in) Wingspan 32–38cm (12 1 ⁄2 –15in) Weight 30–40g (1 1 ⁄16 –1 7 ⁄16oz)
Social Flocks Lifespan 2–3 years Status Secure†
401