Plectrophenax nivalissnow bunting

Ge­o­graphic Range

Snow buntings are found in both the nearc­tic and palearc­tic re­gions, in­clud­ing north­ern Eu­rope, Rus­sia, and Canada from early April to mid-Sep­tem­ber. After mi­grat­ing in mid- to late-Sep­tem­ber, snow buntings can be found in south­ern Canada and the north­ern United States. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; "Snow Bunting Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis", 1996)

Habi­tat

Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis is a mi­gra­tory bird. In the sum­mer breed­ing sea­son, it makes its home hid­den in rocky, bare moun­tain slopes. Dur­ing the win­ter months Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis can be found in coastal fields, salt marshes, and agri­cul­tural areas. ("Buntings and New World Spar­rows Snow Bunting", 1999; "Snow Bunting", 2000)

Phys­i­cal De­scrip­tion

Snow buntings are most com­monly iden­ti­fied by their dis­tinct white wings; in fact it is these wings that lend them the name "snowflakes". While the wings of this species pro­vide a defin­ing char­ac­ter­is­tic, the two sexes do not al­ways look alike. The male is slightly larger and has mainly black and white col­or­ing. The white is most vis­i­ble on the un­der­belly, wings, and fa­cial area. The male's tail is black tipped and the bill and feet are also black. The fe­male snow bunting looks sim­i­lar to the male; how­ever, what is black on the male be­comes a less bril­liant gray­ish brown on the fe­male. The white of the wings is also lim­ited to a smaller patch of the fe­male's inner wing. De­spite the dif­fer­ences seen in the breed­ing months, in win­ter, male and fe­male snow buntings look alike. Both look like the breed­ing fe­male with inky black feath­ers turn­ing a duller shade of gray­ish gin­ger brown. The bill also turns a yel­low­ish or­ange. Yet even with the sim­i­lar­i­ties, the male still ex­hibits a whiter wing. Through­out the win­ter, the dull plumage grad­u­ally wears away, re­veal­ing again the beau­ti­ful black and white feath­ers of a male snow bunting ready to mate.

Snow buntings are 16.51 to 19.05 cm long, weigh about 40 g and have wingspans of 30.48 to 33.02 cm. ("Buntings and New World Spar­rows Snow Bunting", 1999; "Snow Bunting", 2000; Grz­imek, 1973)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • male larger
  • sexes colored or patterned differently
  • Average mass
    40 g
    1.41 oz
  • Average mass
    41.8 g
    1.47 oz
    AnAge
  • Range length
    16.51 to 19.05 cm
    6.50 to 7.50 in
  • Range wingspan
    30.48 to 33.02 cm
    12.00 to 13.00 in

Re­pro­duc­tion

Snow buntings are gen­er­ally con­sid­ered to be monog­a­mous. While this is true, there is ex­treme com­pe­ti­tion be­tween the males. The more ex­pe­ri­enced males will re­turn to the sum­mer breed­ing grounds ap­prox­i­mately three to six weeks be­fore the fe­males ar­rive. It is dur­ing this time that they claim their ter­ri­tory and ag­gres­sively de­fend it. It is also likely that the males re­turn to the same ter­ri­tory year after year. Once the fe­males ar­rive, the male snow buntings at­tracts them with their war­bled song that many de­scribe as finch-like. When a fe­male ap­proaches, the male dives and pur­sues her. The chase ends with mat­ing. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Per­rins and Mid­dle­ton, 1985)

Snow buntings breed far­ther north than any other known land bird. The breed­ing sea­son be­gins in late May, after the fe­male snow buntings ar­rive. They build their nests with grass and moss and line them with feath­ers and fur. In hopes of avoid­ing pre­da­tion, these birds hide their nests in the rocky ter­rain.

Snow buntings usu­ally lay four to six eggs each sea­son. The eggs are white with a ring of red­dish brown spots around the largest end. The in­cu­ba­tion pe­riod ranges from four to ten days and dur­ing this time the males feed the nest­bound fe­males. In the ex­treme cold, the eggs would not hatch if they did not have the mother's con­stant warmth. The chicks fledge in ten to fif­teen days.

It is com­monly said that snow buntings raise only one brood of four to six young a year. While this is pre­dom­i­nately the case, stud­ies by D. Nether­sole Thomp­son showed that nine out of nine­teen pairs raised a sec­ond brood. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Grz­imek, 1973; Malkins, 2003; "Snow Bunting Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis", 1996; Per­rins and Mid­dle­ton, 1985)

  • Breeding interval
    Snow buntings generally breed once yearly.
  • Breeding season
    The breeding season begins in late May, after the female snow buntings arrive.
  • Average eggs per season
    5
  • Average eggs per season
    5
    AnAge
  • Average time to hatching
    10-14 days
  • Average time to hatching
    12 days
    AnAge
  • Average fledging age
    10-15 days

The in­cu­ba­tion pe­riod for snow buntings ranges from four to ten days and dur­ing this time the males feed the nest­bound fe­males. In the ex­treme cold, the eggs would not hatch if they did not have the mother's con­stant warmth. The nestling pe­riod of snow buntings usu­ally lasts ten to fif­teen days. Dur­ing this time the par­ents feed their nestlings al­most ex­clu­sively arthro­pods. Since snow buntings are so­cial birds and travel in flocks it is as­sumed that the young birds join the parental flock after fledg­ing. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Per­rins and Mid­dle­ton, 1985)

  • Parental Investment
  • no parental involvement
  • altricial
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-weaning/fledging
    • provisioning
      • male
      • female

Lifes­pan/Longevity

Lit­tle is known about the lifes­pan/longevity of snow buntings.

Be­hav­ior

Snow buntings are a so­cial species. They mi­grate in large flocks which ap­pear to be in con­stant mo­tion, be­cause birds in the back fly over the birds in front, cre­at­ing a con­stant cycle. In these flocks there is a def­i­nite hi­er­ar­chy: adult birds are dom­i­nant over first win­ter birds and males over fe­males. In win­ter, the flocks usu­ally con­tain only snow buntings. How­ever, in other sea­sons these birds as­so­ci­ate with pip­its (genus An­thus), horned larks (Er­e­mophila alpestris), and La­p­land longspurs (Cal­car­ius lap­pon­i­cus).

In order for snow buntings to with­stand tem­per­a­tures of -40 de­grees Fahren­heit, they bur­row deep into the snow to stay warm. Snow buntings also enjoy bathing in the snow. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Jen­nings, 2001; "Snow Bunting (Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis)", 2003)

Home Range

We do not have in­for­ma­tion on home range for this species at this time.

Com­mu­ni­ca­tion and Per­cep­tion

The call of the snow bunting is used in mat­ing. The male at­tracts his mate with a war­bled song, which is usu­ally de­liv­ered while he is sit­ting or in cir­cu­lar flight. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Grz­imek, 1973)

Food Habits

Snow buntings are ground feed­ers that live pri­mar­ily on seeds, leaf buds, and in­sects. Young snow buntings are fed ex­clu­sively arthro­pods, in­clud­ing both in­sects and arach­nids. After mi­grat­ing south, snow buntings that nest along the sea coast add crus­taceans to their diets. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Per­rins and Mid­dle­ton, 1985)

  • Animal Foods
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • Plant Foods
  • leaves
  • seeds, grains, and nuts

Pre­da­tion

The pri­mary preda­tors of snow buntings are arc­tic foxes and snowy owls. In order to pro­tect them­selves, snow buntings hide their nests amongst the rocky ter­rain. Their white wings also help to cam­ou­flage the birds against their snowy habi­tat. (Malkins, 2003)

  • Anti-predator Adaptations
  • cryptic

Ecosys­tem Roles

Snow buntings im­pact their ecosys­tem the most through the food chain. They eat arthro­pods, seeds, and leaf buds. Since they as­so­ci­ate them­selves with other field birds, it is likely that all the birds in the en­vi­ron­ment com­pete for re­sources. Snow buntings are also prey to arc­tic foxes and snowy owls. As an im­por­tant mem­ber of the food chain, snow buntings help main­tain the del­i­cate bal­ance of their ecosys­tems. ("Snow Bunting", 2000; Per­rins and Mid­dle­ton, 1985)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Pos­i­tive

Lit­tle is known of snow buntings's ef­fects on hu­mans. How­ever, they do pro­vide plea­sure for many bird watch­ers. For in­stance, in Alaska snow buntings are cav­ity-nest­ing birds and some peo­ple enjoy build­ing bird­houses so they can ob­serve the birds. (Quin­lan, 2001)

Eco­nomic Im­por­tance for Hu­mans: Neg­a­tive

There are no known ad­verse af­fects of Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis on hu­mans.

Con­ser­va­tion Sta­tus

Snow buntings are pro­tected by the US Mi­gra­tory Bird Treaty Act.

Con­trib­u­tors

Alaine Cam­field (ed­i­tor), An­i­mal Di­ver­sity Web.

Ash­ley Cun­ning­ham (au­thor), Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor, Phil Myers (ed­i­tor), Mu­seum of Zo­ol­ogy, Uni­ver­sity of Michi­gan-Ann Arbor.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

World Map

acoustic

uses sound to communicate

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

altricial

young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carnivore

an animal that mainly eats meat

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

coastal

the nearshore aquatic habitats near a coast, or shoreline.

cryptic

having markings, coloration, shapes, or other features that cause an animal to be camouflaged in its natural environment; being difficult to see or otherwise detect.

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
dominance hierarchies

ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates

ecotourism

humans benefit economically by promoting tourism that focuses on the appreciation of natural areas or animals. Ecotourism implies that there are existing programs that profit from the appreciation of natural areas or animals.

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

holarctic

a distribution that more or less circles the Arctic, so occurring in both the Nearctic and Palearctic biogeographic regions.

World Map

Found in northern North America and northern Europe or Asia.

insectivore

An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

migratory

makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

mountains

This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

polar

the regions of the earth that surround the north and south poles, from the north pole to 60 degrees north and from the south pole to 60 degrees south.

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

territorial

defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement

tundra

A terrestrial biome with low, shrubby or mat-like vegetation found at extremely high latitudes or elevations, near the limit of plant growth. Soils usually subject to permafrost. Plant diversity is typically low and the growing season is short.

visual

uses sight to communicate

Ref­er­ences

Birdguides. 1999. "Buntings and New World Spar­rows Snow Bunting" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​www.​birdguides.​com/​html/​vidlib/​species/​Plectrophenax_​nivalis.​htm.

North West Nor­folk Ring­ing Group. 2003. "Snow Bunting (Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis)" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​www.​bmarket.​freeserve.​co.​uk/​research/​snow_​bunting/​snowbunting.​htm.

Na­tional Wildlife Fed­er­a­tion. 1996. "Snow Bunting Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​www.​enature.​com/​partners/​nwf/​showSpeciesLG_​nwf.​asp?​showType=4&​rgnID=1599&​curGroupID=1&​curPageNum=270&​recnum=BD0527.

Cor­nell Lab­o­ra­tory of Or­nithol­ogy. 2000. "Snow Bunting" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​birds.​cornell.​edu/​bow/​SNOBUN/​.

Grz­imek, B. 1973. Snow Bunting. Grz­imek's An­i­mal Life En­cy­clo­pe­dia, Vol. 9. New York: Lit­ton World Trade Cor­po­ra­tion.

Jen­nings, H. 2001. "Snow Bunting (Plec­tro­phenax ni­valis)" (On-line). ELWAS. Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​www.​elwas.​org/​highlights/​data/​20021013_​211841377.

Malkins, C. 2003. "Snow buntings: Liv­ing Snowflakes on Shore­lines and Grass­lands" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​chicagowildernessmag.​org/​issues/​winter2000/​snowbunting.​html.

Per­rins, C., A. Mid­dle­ton. 1985. Old World Buntings. The En­cy­clo­pe­dia of Birds. New York: Facts on File Pub­li­ca­tions.

Quin­lan, S. 2001. "Bird­houses for Alaska" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​www.​wildlife.​alaska.​gov/​aawildlife/​birds/​birdhaus.​cfm.

Seage, M. 2003. "Snow Bunting" (On-line). Ac­cessed April 01, 2004 at http://​www.​birdsofbritain.​co.​uk/​bird-guide/​snow-bunting.​htm.