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Thick-billed Longspur - Rhynchophanes mccownii
Other Names:
McCown's Longspur
Species of Concern Native Species Global Rank :
G4
State Rank :
S3B
(see State Rank Reason below)
Agency Status USFWS :
MBTA; BCC10; BCC11; BCC17
USFS :
BLM :
SENSITIVE
FWP SWAP :
SGCN3
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 faces threats from cover type conversion and altered grazing and fire regimes, and although populations in the core of their breeding range in northeast Montana appear to be relatively stable, declines are occurring in much of the species' global breeding range.
Details on Status Ranking and Review
Thick-billed Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii ) Conservation Status Review
Population Size
Score U - Unknown
Comment Unknown.
Range Extent
Score G - 200,000-2,500,000 km squared (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Comment 300,494 square kilometers based on Natural Heritage Program range maps that appear on the Montana Field Guide
Area of Occupancy
Score U - Unknown
Comment Unknown.
Long-term Trend
Score D - Moderate Decline (decline of 25-50%)
Comment Grassland habitats have been heavily impacted since European arrival and species has probably declined by 25-50% over this time period.
Short-term Trend
Score E - Stable. Population, range, area occupied, and/or number or condition of occurrences unchanged or remaining within ±10% fluctuation
Comment Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data for Montana is of moderate credibility and shows an insignificant trend of -0.8% decrease per year or 2% decrease per decade. Saskatchewan and Alberta show moderate credibility significant declines of around 10% per year or -91% per decade. Trends on North Valley County Point Counts between 2001 and 2008 showed a 2% per year increase in the percent of points the species was detected on and a 9% per year increase in the number of birds.
Threats
Score B - Moderate and imminent threat. Threat is moderate to severe and imminent for a significant proportion (20-60%) of the population or area.
Comment Plowing, use of pesticides, and control of fires probably represent the biggest threats to the species. Species breeding range is drastically reduced and local abundances within current breeding range are probably lower than in historic range probably due to loss of buffalo and natural fire regime and plowing of native prairie. Species is dependent on grazing and fire as natural disturbance regimes that create their preferred short grass habitat.
Severity Moderate - Major reduction of species population or long-term degradation or reduction of habitat in Montana, requiring 50-100 years for recovery.
Comment Species seems capable of responding quickly to restored disturbances, but sod busting seems to be a long term challenge for recovery.
Scope Moderate - 20-60% of total population or area affected
Comment Uncertain 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.
Immediacy Moderate - Threat is likely to be operational within 2-5 years.
Comment Ongoing.
Intrinsic Vulnerability
Score C - 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 Not Intrinsically Vulnerable. Species matures quickly, reproduces frequently, and/or has a high fecundity such that populations recover quickly (< 5 years or 2 generations) from decreases in abundance. Species has good dispersal capabilities such that extirpated populations generally become reestablished through natural recolonization.
Environmental Specificity
Score B - 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.
Comment Narrow specialist. Dependent on shortgrass prairie (grass height of <12 inches with < 8 inches probably ideal for nesting).
Raw Conservation Status Score
Score
3.5 + 0.0 (geographic distribution) + 0.0 (environmental specificity) + 0.0 (short-term trend) - 0.75 (threats) = 2.75
General Description
A chunky, sparrow-sized bird about 15 cm in length with a short tail and large bill. The name “longspur” references an elongated claw on the hallux (hind toe). The breeding male is gray with a black bill, crown, malar stripe, and upper breast; a blackish wash on lower breast and belly; and chestnut median coverts. The breeding female, also gray but without the black plumage of males, has a pale bill; median coverts and scapulars have a rusty tinge (With 2010).
For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see
Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana. Diagnostic Characteristics
Identification of breeding males is straightforward, as their combination of plumage characters is unique among North American passerines; however, females, non-breeding males, and immatures are drab and less easily distinguished. McCown’s are most likely to be confused with Chestnut-collared Longspurs, but have larger, paler bills (often with a darkish tip) and longer wing projections. In all plumages, tail pattern (extensive white with inverted black “T”) can be used to distinguish McCown’s from other longspurs, though this may be difficult in the field (With 2010).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions Western Hemisphere Range
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 4878
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)
Direct Evidence of Breeding
Indirect Evidence of Breeding
No Evidence of Breeding
WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)
Regularly Observed
Not Regularly Observed
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Migrates in large flocks between breeding grounds in the Canadian Prairie Provinces and northwestern Great Plains and wintering grounds in the southwestern United States, Texas, and northern Mexico (With 2010).
Habitat
Semi-arid shortgrass steppe, characteristically open with sparse vegetation, provides nesting habitat; so do structurally similar habitats like overgrazed pastures (With 2010).
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 (common or occasional) of each of the 82 ecological systems mapped in Montana for
vertebrate animal species that regularly breed, overwinter, or migrate through the state by:
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 2012, Adams 2003, and Werner et al. 2004);
Evaluating structural characteristics and distribution of each ecological system relative to the species' range and habitat requirements;
Examining the observation records for each species in the state-wide point observation database associated with each ecological system;
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 listed as associated with 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 listed as 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.
Common versus occasional association with an ecological system was assigned based on the degree to which the structural characteristics of an ecological system matched the preferred structural habitat characteristics for each species as represented in scientific 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 assignment of common versus occasional association.
If you have any questions or comments on species associations with ecological systems, please contact the Montana Natural Heritage Program's Senior Zoologist.
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:
mtnhp.org/requests ) 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. 2012. Mammals of Montana. Second edition. Mountain Press Publishing, Missoula, Montana. 429 pp.
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
Forages by day, eating primarily grass and forb seeds, insects, and other arthropods (With 2010).
Ecology
During the breeding season, males establish territories and maintain them by characteristic aerial displays (With 2010).
Reproductive Characteristics
Monogamous; pairs appear to form once males have established territories. Nests constructed in shallow ground depressions. Two broods possible per season (With 2010).
Management
Decreasing range-wide abundance can likely be attributed in large part to conversion of short-grass prairie to agriculture and urban development. Although grazing may actually benefit McCown’s Longspur, it has been subject to other habitat disruptions like plowing, pesticide use, and suppression of grassland fires that maintain shortgrass prairie (With 2010).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
Literature Cited AboveLegend:
Additional ReferencesLegend: Do you know of a citation we're missing? Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana . [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.Calcarius mccownii ). Species Account Number 096. 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
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