Montana Field Guide

Medium-sized (length 13–16.5 cm; mass 18–23 g), terrestrial, with small, acutely conical bill, long, pointed wings, and long, slender claw of hind toe (hence the name “longspur”). Smallest longspur. Four outer tail-feathers extensively white at base, forming distinctive pattern. In breeding (Definitive Alternate) male, crown and breast black, sometimes tipped with chestnut to varying degrees; cheek and upper throat yellowish buff, though some birds white in these areas; characteristic deep chestnut hindneck (collar); shoulder (lesser-coverts) black with white posterior trim (longest inner lesser-coverts). Breeding female overall grayish buff and streaked with dusky; sometimes shows dull, obscure chestnut collar and dark feathers on breast and belly. Winter (Definitive Basic) male similar to breeding male, except black on head and breast and chestnut on nape are “veiled” by buffy feather tips. Winter female similar to breeding female, but has buffy feather tips. (Hill, D. P., and L. K. Gould. 1997. Chesnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 288 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.)

Species prefers short-to-medium grasses that have been recently grazed or mowed. Prefers native pastures.

Diet consists of grass seeds, insects and spiders.

The species nests and re-nests between May 6 and the first of August. Double brooded species with three to five eggs per brood. Incubation period 10-13 days. Young able to fly 9-14 days after hatch.