Chestnut-Collared Longspur: Food, Nesting, Behaviour & Conservation

Q: What is The Difference Between a Smith’s Longspur and a Lapland Longspur?

Smith’s longspurs are generally buffier with slender , pointed bills and yellowish legs. Breeding males have tawny throats and bellies, while Lapland longspurs have black throats. Smith’s longspur calls are more staccato , louder, and intense.

Q: How Does The Birds Diet Change With The Seasons?

Chestnut-collared longspurs eat mostly insects in the summer, especially grasshoppers, and switch to seeds in the winter.

Q: What Are The Main Threats to The Birds Conservation?

The greatest threat to the bird’s conservation is the loss and degradation of breeding and wintering habitats due to urban development, agriculture, and extreme weather events.

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Let’s investigate the Chestnut-collared Longspur, a grassland bird with a unique appearance and intriguing habits. This bird, with its stout bill, black belly, and yellowish throat, has adaptations that make it well-suited for life on the ground.

This article offers a detailed exploration of the Chestnut-collared Longspur’s diet, nesting habits, behaviour, and conservation status. By the end, you’ll have a thorough understanding of this fascinating bird species.

Key Takeaways

Chestnut-collared Longspurs stand out in the bird world: Their black bellies and yellowish throats make these birds the equivalent of the ‘black sheep’ of the meadow, easily spotted against the grass.
Expert ground foragers, these birds: Stout bills are used to probe for seeds and insects, making them well-adapted to grassland living.
Long-distance migration is a key feature: Traveling thousands of miles annually, these longspurs migrate further than most, between breeding and winter grounds.
A vulnerable species, their numbers have dropped: With an over 80% population decline since the 1960s, conservation efforts are needed to protect these unique birds.

Description of the Chestnut-collared Longspur

The Chestnut-collared Longspur is a stocky grassland bird with a stout bill, measuring around 5 3/4" in length. It displays a distinctive black, brown, red, tan, and white colour pattern. The breeding male has a black belly, chestnut nape, and yellowish throat, while the non-breeding birds are more greyish buff with dusky streaks on the back and blurry streaks on the underparts. The outer tail feathers are white, forming a triangle with the inner dark tail feathers.

This bird is typically found in grasslands, meadows, and prairies, favouring shortgrass habitats with scattered shrubs or trees. It breeds in the northern Great Plains and Great Basin, migrating long distances to winter in the southern Great Plains and southwestern United States. During migration and winter, they may form large flocks.

Food

Now that you know what a Chestnut-collared Longspur looks like, let’s explore its diet and foraging behavior. These birds are primarily foragers, and their diet consists of seeds and insects. The summer diet of adults includes a large number of seeds, which may make up almost half of their food intake, while the winter diet consists mostly of seeds. During the summer, they also feed on a variety of insects, including grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles, as well as spiders. The young birds are fed a diet that consists mostly of insects.

Here are some interesting facts about the Chestnut-collared Longspur’s diet and foraging behavior:

They forage on the ground for food, using their stout bills to probe and search for seeds and insects.
Their diet consists of a mix of seeds and insects, with seeds being a major part of their winter diet and insects being more prevalent in summer.
These grassland birds prefer shortgrass habitats with scattered shrubs or trees, where they can find their preferred mix of seeds and insects.
The availability of their food sources can be impacted by seasonal changes, with certain insects being more prevalent in summer and seeds being more accessible in winter.
Conservation efforts focus on maintaining their grassland habitats, ensuring these areas provide the necessary food sources for their survival.

Nesting

For nesting, you’ll find Chestnut-collared Longspurs placing their nests on the ground in areas of short, sparse grass. These nests are simple grass-lined cups hidden among the vegetation.

Nest Placement

Chestnut-collared longspurs nest in a variety of habitats, including grasslands, meadows, and prairies. They prefer short-grass areas with scattered shrubs or trees for their nesting sites. The geographic nesting range of these birds spans across the northern Great Plains and the Great Basin.

Factors	Details
Nesting Season	Early summer
Nest Materials
Nesting Behavior	Clumped together in suitable habitats

Nest Description

Chestnut-collared longspurs build nests that are simple, shallow scrapes lined with grass and other plant material. These nests are carefully hidden in small depressions in the ground, often at the base of a small tuft of grass or other vegetation.

Nesting Facts

The Chestnut-collared Longspur, Calcarius ornatus, builds its nest on the ground in shortgrass prairies, often in mixed-grass prairie habitats.

The nest is a small cup, made of grass and other plant material, lined with finer grasses and sometimes animal hair.

The female lays 3-6 eggs, which are incubated for about 12-14 days.

Both parents care for the nestlings, feeding them insects and other small invertebrates.

Behavior

Chestnut-collared longspurs are known for their unique behaviour patterns, which include migration in flocks, vocalizations, and display flights. They migrate long distances between breeding and wintering grounds, and during migration and winter, they may form large flocks. These birds have specific habitat preferences, favouring shortgrass prairies and rangelands. They can also be found in disturbed areas, such as grazed or burned land, and are known to utilise different locations from year to year.

Males of this species are quite vocal, singing a descending, melodious warble from exposed perches. Their vocalizations include a soft, sweet, tumbling song, somewhat reminiscent of the Western Meadowlark’s. In flight, they produce a distinct "hard ji-jiv" call.

The birds also perform fluttering display flights in early summer, taking advantage of suitable habitats with short, sparse grass. They’re often visible from a distance during these flights, showcasing their black underparts against the green prairie backdrop.

Differences From Thick-billed Longspur

Chestnut-collared Longspurs differ from Thick-billed Longspurs in several ways, including their distribution, habitat preferences, migratory patterns, and population trends:

Distribution and Habitat Preferences: Chestnut-collared Longspurs overlap in range but prefer taller, denser grass. They inhabit shortgrass prairies, rangelands, and desert grasslands, often in disturbed areas like grazed fields.
Migratory Patterns: Chestnut-collared Longspurs migrate in larger flocks to the southern Great Plains and southwestern US, while Thick-billed Longspurs migrate further south.
Population Trends: Chestnut-collared Longspur populations have declined by over 80% since the 1960s, classifying them as vulnerable. Thick-billed Longspur numbers remain stable.
Conservation Measures: Conservation efforts for Chestnut-collared Longspurs focus on maintaining suitable habitats through grazing and prescribed burns to replicate natural disturbances.

Ground Adaptations

In prairie habitats, Chestnut-collared Longspurs exhibit remarkable ground adaptations that facilitate efficient foraging and predator avoidance. You’ll notice their behavior as ground gleaners, methodically picking seeds and insects from the soil surface.

Great Ground Adaptations

Chestnut-collared Longspurs display a high level of adaptability to ground-based life.

This adaptability is evident in their migration patterns and wintering strategies.

The birds migrate over long distances, traveling between their breeding grounds in the northern Great Plains and Great Basin, and their wintering areas in the southern regions of the Great Plains and the southwestern United States.

Population dynamics are influenced by their habitat preferences, which include shortgrass prairies and disturbed lands, presenting unique conservation challenges.

Ground Gleaners

Chestnut-collared longspurs are ground gleaners—they forage for food on the ground.

These birds are highly adaptable to their environment, with migration patterns to match.

They breed in the northern Great Plains and Great Basin. Then, they migrate long distances for the winter, settling in the southern Great Plains and southwestern United States.

During migration and winter, they can be found in flocks, sometimes near the Thick-billed Longspur.

Conservation

The Chestnut-collared Longspur is classified as Vulnerable, with a population decline of over 80% since the 1960s. This species is dependent on shortgrass prairies and rangelands, and conservation efforts focus on maintaining suitable habitat through habitat management practices like grazing and prescribed burns. Climate change-driven threats to their conservation include habitat loss, changes in prey availability, and extreme weather events.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What does the Chestnut-collared Longspur eat?

Chestnut-collared longspurs eat seeds and insects. During the summer, they eat more insects, especially grasshoppers. In winter, they only eat seeds, mostly from grasses.

What is the difference between thick billed longspur and Chestnut-collared Longspur?

The Chestnut-collared Longspur is the smallest of North America’s four longspur species. It has a smaller bill than the Thick-billed Longspur. You can tell them apart by their tail patterns: a black triangle on the Chestnut-collared, and a black "T" on the Thick-billed.

What is the difference between a Smith’s longspur and a Lapland Longspur?

Smith’s longspurs are generally buffier with slender, pointed bills and yellowish legs. Breeding males have tawny throats and bellies, while Lapland longspurs have black throats. Smith’s longspur calls are more staccato, louder, and intense.

How does the birds diet change with the seasons?

Chestnut-collared longspurs eat mostly insects in the summer, especially grasshoppers, and switch to seeds in the winter.

Where does the bird migrate to and from?

Chestnut-collared longspurs undertake a seasonal journey, migrating from the northern Great Plains to the southern Great Plains, Chihuahuan Desert, and northern Mexico during winter.

What are the Chestnut-collared Longspurs key physical characteristics?

Breeding males have black underparts, a chestnut nape, a yellow throat, and a black crown. Non-breeding birds are grayish-buff with dusky streaks on their back and blurry streaks on their underparts.

How does the birds habitat change throughout the year?

The Chestnut-collared Longspur is a migratory bird, so its habitat changes with the seasons. During the breeding season, they nest in the northern Great Plains. As winter approaches, they migrate south to the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico, as well as the southern Great Plains and southwestern United States, where they find shortgrass prairies and desert grasslands.

What are the main threats to the birds conservation?

The greatest threat to the bird’s conservation is the loss and degradation of breeding and wintering habitats due to urban development, agriculture, and extreme weather events.

Conclusion

Chestnut-collared Longspurs stand out like a melody in a meadow.

Their black bellies, yellowish throats, and stout bills are distinctive.

This article has guided you through the secrets of their diet, nesting habits, behavior, and conservation status.

Now, you can appreciate the unique adaptations and intriguing lifestyle of these grassland birds.

The Chestnut-collared Longspur’s story is a fascinating one. We hope you now feel like an expert on this species.