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Chestnut-collared Longspur - Calcarius ornatus

  • Chestnut-collared Longspur
  • Chestnut-collared Longspur Nest
  • Chestnut-collared Longspur
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Species of Concern

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S2B
* (see State Rank Reason below)

Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM: SENSITIVE
FWP Conservation Tier: 3
PIF: 2

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Copyright by Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics, Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, all rights reserved.
State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
Species has a negative short-term population trend and faces threats from loss of native prairie grassland habitats and altered frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution of grazing and fire regimes it is dependent on.
  • Details on Status Ranking and Review
    Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) Conservation Status Review
    Review Date = 12/20/2011
    View State Conservation Rank Criteria
    Population Size

    ScoreU - Unknown

    CommentUnknown.

    Range Extent

    ScoreG - 200,000-2,500,000 km squared (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)

    Comment254,055 square kilometers based on Natural Heritage Program range maps that appear on the Montana Field Guide

    Area of Occupancy

    ScoreU - Unknown

    CommentUnknown.

    Long-term Trend

    ScoreD - Moderate Decline (decline of 25-50%)

    CommentGrassland habitats have been heavily impacted since European arrival and species has probably declined by 25-50% over this time period.

    Short-term Trend

    ScoreD - Declining. Decline of 10-30% in population, range, area occupied, and/or number or condition of occurrences

    CommentBBS data for Montana is of high credibility and shows a -3.3% decline per year or 29% decline per decade. Declines for virtually all surrounding states and provinces. Trends on North Valley County Point Counts between 2001 and 2008 showed a 1% per year increase in the percent of points the species was detected on and a 4% per year increase in the number of birds. Due to declining trends in all surrounding areas and Montana's large percentage of the global breeding population this is probably best recognized as a class D of decline.

    Threats

    ScoreB - Moderate and imminent threat. Threat is moderate to severe and imminent for a significant proportion (20-60%) of the population or area.

    CommentLoss of native prairie is the greatest threat to the species, but altered grazing and fire regimes also represent threats. Breeding densities in grazed pastures are 9 times higher than in ungrazed pastures. Densities were higher in cropland than in adjacent tall dense idle CRP lands in North Dakota. Natural frequency, intensity, and spatial distribution of fire and grazing would probably promote species conservation.

    SeverityModerate - Major reduction of species population or long-term degradation or reduction of habitat in Montana, requiring 50-100 years for recovery.

    CommentSpecies seems capable of responding quickly to restored disturbances, but sod busting seems to be a long term challenge for recovery.

    ScopeModerate - 20-60% of total population or area affected

    CommentUncertain if 20% of grassland habitats would be lost in next 15 years, but species experts agree that the species faces threats across large portion of range.

    ImmediacyModerate - Threat is likely to be operational within 2-5 years.

    CommentOngoing.

    Intrinsic Vulnerability

    ScoreC - Not Intrinsically Vulnerable. Species matures quickly, reproduces frequently, and/or has high fecundity such that populations recover quickly (< 5 years or 2 generations) from decreases in abundance; or species has high dispersal capability such that extirpated populations soon become reestablished through natural recolonization (unaided by humans).

    Comment

    Environmental Specificity

    ScoreB - Narrow. Specialist. Specific habitat(s) or other abiotic and/or biotic factors (see above) are used or required by the Element, but these key requirements are common and within the generalized range of the species within the area of interest.

    CommentNarrow Specialist. Dependent on shortgrass prairie (<12 inches with < 8 inches probably ideal for nesting). Prefer double the grass density that McCown's did in North Valley County monitoring points.

    Raw Conservation Status Score

    Score 3.5 + 0.0 (geographic distribution) + 0.0 (environmental specificity) - 0.25 (short-term trend) - 0.75 (threats) = 2.5, but negative trends indicate that rounding to S2 is more justifiable than S3.
    How Scores are Calculated

 
General Description
Medium-sized (length 13 to 16.5 cm; mass 18 to 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 and Gould 1997).

General Distribution
Montana Range



Western Hemisphere Range

 


Summary of Observations Submitted for Montana
Number of Observations: 6677

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

Breeding
(direct evidence "B")

Breeding
(indirect evidence "b")

No evidence of Breeding
(transient "t")

Overwintering
(regular observations "W")

Overwintering
(at least one obs. "w")


 

(Records associated with a range of dates are excluded from time charts)



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

Ecological Systems Associated with this Species
  • Details on Creation and Suggested Uses and Limitations
    How Associations Were Made
    We associated the use and habitat quality (high, medium, or low) of each of the 82 ecological systems mapped in Montana for vertebrate animal species that regularly breed, overwinter, or migrate through the state by:
    1. Using personal observations and reviewing literature that summarize the breeding, overwintering, or migratory habitat requirements of each species (Dobkin 1992, Hart et al. 1998, Hutto and Young 1999, Maxell 2000, Foresman 2001, Adams 2003, and Werner et al. 2004);
    2. Evaluating structural characteristics and distribution of each ecological system relative to the species’ range and habitat requirements;
    3. Examining the observation records for each species in the state-wide point database associated with each ecological system;
    4. Calculating the percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system to get a measure of “observations versus availability of habitat”.
    Species that breed in Montana were only evaluated for breeding habitat use, species that only overwinter in Montana were only evaluated for overwintering habitat use, and species that only migrate through Montana were only evaluated for migratory habitat use.  In general, species were associated as using an ecological system if structural characteristics of used habitat documented in the literature were present in the ecological system or large numbers of point observations were associated with the ecological system.  However, species were not associated with an ecological system if there was no support in the literature for use of structural characteristics in an ecological system, even if point observations were associated with that system.  High, medium, and low habitat quality was assigned based on the degree to which the structural characteristics of an ecological system matched the preferred structural habitat characteristics for each species in the literature.  The percentage of observations associated with each ecological system relative to the percent of Montana covered by each ecological system was also used to guide assignments of habitat quality.  If you have any questions or comments on species associations with ecological systems, please contact Bryce Maxell at bmaxell@mt.gov or (406) 444-3655.

    Suggested Uses and Limitations
    Species associations with ecological systems should be used to generate potential lists of species that may occupy broader landscapes for the purposes of landscape-level planning.  These potential lists of species should not be used in place of documented occurrences of species (this information can be requested at: http://mtnhp.org/requests/default.asp) or systematic surveys for species and evaluations of habitat at a local site level by trained biologists.  Users of this information should be aware that the land cover data used to generate species associations is based on imagery from the late 1990s and early 2000s and was only intended to be used at broader landscape scales.  Land cover mapping accuracy is particularly problematic when the systems occur as small patches or where the land cover types have been altered over the past decade.  Thus, particular caution should be used when using the associations in assessments of smaller areas (e.g., evaluations of public land survey sections).  Finally, although a species may be associated with a particular ecological system within its known geographic range, portions of that ecological system may occur outside of the species’ known geographic range.

    Literature Cited
    • Adams, R.A.  2003.  Bats of the Rocky Mountain West; natural history, ecology, and conservation.  Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado.  289 p.
    • Dobkin, D. S.  1992.  Neotropical migrant land birds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. USDA Forest Service, Northern Region. Publication No. R1-93-34.  Missoula, MT.
    • Foresman, K.R.  2001.  The wild mammals of Montana.  Special Publication No. 12.  Lawrence, KS: The American Society of Mammalogists.  278 p.
    • Hart, M.M., W.A. Williams, P.C. Thornton, K.P. McLaughlin, C.M. Tobalske, B.A. Maxell, D.P. Hendricks, C.R. Peterson, and R.L. Redmond. 1998.  Montana atlas of terrestrial vertebrates.  Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT.  1302 p.
    • Hutto, R.L. and J.S. Young.  1999.  Habitat relationships of landbirds in the Northern Region, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station RMRS-GTR-32.  72 p.
    • Maxell, B.A.  2000.  Management of Montana’s amphibians: a review of factors that may present a risk to population viability and accounts on the identification, distribution, taxonomy, habitat use, natural history, and the status and conservation of individual species.  Report to U.S. Forest Service Region 1.  Missoula, MT: Wildlife Biology Program, University of Montana.  161 p.
    • Werner, J.K., B.A. Maxell, P. Hendricks, and D. Flath.  2004.  Amphibians and reptiles of Montana.  Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing Company. 262 p.

Food Habits
Diet consists of grass seeds, insects and spiders.

Reproductive Characteristics
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 to 13 days. Young able to fly 9 to 14 days after hatch.

References
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View WorldCat Record   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American birds. 7th edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. 829 pp.
    • Anstey, D.A., S.K. Davis, D.C. Duncan, and M. Skeel. 1995. Distribution and habitat requirements of eight grassland songbird species in southern Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan Wetland Conservation Corp. publ., Regina.
    • Casey, D. 2000. Partners in Flight Draft Bird Conservation Plan Montana. 281 pp.
    • Dechant, J. A., M. L. Sondreal, D. H. Johnson, L. D. Igl, C. M. Goldade, M. P. Nenneman, and B. R. Euliss. 2003c. Effects of management practices on grassland birds: Chestnut-collared Longspur. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center, Jamestown, ND. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/literatr/grasbird/cclo/cclo.htm (Version 28MAY2004).
    • Dobkin, D. S. 1992. Neotropical migrant landbirds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. U.S.D.A. For. Serv. N. Region Publ. R1-93-34. Missoula, Mont.
    • Dobkin, D.S. 1994. Conservation and management of neotropical migrant landbirds in the Northern Rockies and Great Plains. Univ. Idaho Press, Moscow, Idaho. 220 pp.
    • Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder’s Handbook, A Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
    • Felske, B.E. 1971. The population dynamics and productivity of McCown's longspurs at Matador, Saskatchewan. MS Thesis, Univ. of Sask, Saskatoon, Canada. 133 pp.
    • Greer, R.D. and S.H. Anderson. 1989. Relationships between population demography of McCown's longspurs and habitat resources. Condor 91: 609-619.
    • Hill, D.P. and L.K. Gould. 1997. Chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus). In A. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The birds of North America, No. 288. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists'Union, Washington, DC.
    • Hill, Dorothy P., and Lorne K. Gould. 1997. Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus). Species Account Number 288. The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca, NY: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved 3/25/2008 from The Birds of North America Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/
    • Johnsgard, P. A. 1986. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the Northern Rocky Mountain region. Colorado Associated University Press, Boulder. xi + 504 pp.
    • Johnsgard, P.A. 1979. Birds of the Great Plains: breeding species and their distribution. Univ. Nebraska Press, Lincoln. 539 pp.
    • Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana Bird Distribution, 6th Edition. Montana Audubon: Helena, MT, 144 pp.
    • Owens, R.A. and M.T. Myres. 1973. Effects of agriculture upon populations of native passerine birds of an Alberta fescue grassland. Can. J. Zool. 51: 697-713.
    • Rising, J.D. 1996. A guide to the identification and natural history of the sparrows of the United States and Canada. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego, CA. 365 pp.
    • Stewart, R.E. 1975. Breeding birds of North Dakota. Tri-College Center for Environmental Studies, Fargo, North Dakota. 295 pp.
    • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Migratory Bird Management. 1995. Migratory nongame birds of management concern in the United States: the 1995 list. U.S. Government Printing Office: 1996-404-911/44014. 22 pp.
    • U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
    • Western Technology & Engineering, Inc. (WESTECH)., 1991, 1991 Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 Terrestrial Wildlife Monitoring Study. In Meridian Minerals Company Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 Permit Application, Musselshell County, Montana. Vol. 7 of 14: Section 26.4.304(10): Text. Appendix 304(10)-8. January 31, 1990.
    • Western Technology and Engineering, Inc. (WESTECH)., 1999, Wildlife Monitoring Absaloka Mine Area Annual Report, 1998. SMP 85005. OSMP Montana 0007E. April 1999.
    • Wyckoff, A.M. 1986. A relict population of chestnut-collared longspurs in western Minnesota. Loon 58: 3-11.
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Citation for data on this website:
Chestnut-collared Longspur — Calcarius ornatus.  Montana Field Guide.  Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.  Retrieved on May 21, 2013, from http://FieldGuide.mt.gov/detail_ABPBXA6040.aspx
 
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