Spornammer

Spornammer
Male spurhammer ( Calcarius lapponicus )
Systematics
Order : Passerines (Passeriformes) Subordination : Songbirds (passeri) Superfamily : Passeroidea Family : Northern spur bunting and snow bunting (Calcariidae) Genre : Spur chambers ( calcarius ) Type : Spornammer
Scientific name
Calcarius lapponicus
( Linnaeus , 1758)

Female spurhammer

The Lapland Bunting ( Calcarius lapponicus ) is a bird art , long into the family of the buntings was filed (Emberizidae), but today in the relatively few kinds comprehensive family Sporn- and snow buntings (Calcariidae) stands. Like the snow bunting , it breeds mostly in northern tundra areas. Most of their food in summer consists of mosquitoes, which are found in large numbers on the tundra. In winter, like the other spurhammer species, it mainly eats seeds.

description

Drawing of a female spur-bunting

Drawing of a male spur-bunting

The spur bunting resembles the reed bunting ( Emberiza schoeniclus ). The male in the breeding plumage has a black head (without a beard stripe) with a white eye stripe and a rust-brown neck. The females also have a rust-brown neck and a yellow beak. The spur chamber has a length of 15 cm and a weight of 25 g. The wingspan is 25 to 28 centimeters.

habitat

The spur bunting occurs as a winter guest in Europe in northern France and Germany as well as in Denmark. In the east there is a larger distribution area above the Black Sea. Their breeding areas are in Norway, Sweden and northern Russia. Here it lives in the fells and in the tundra above the tree line, mostly in hilly, rock-free terrain with dwarf shrubs. Several subspecies are also found in the subarctic, partly arctic areas of Canada.

singing

In flight she sings a short, partially trilling stanza that is reminiscent of a dunnock . During the breeding season it calls, sometimes singing, "tjüb", "tije" or "drü" while it sails down with trembling wings.

Brood care

Clutch of the spur bunting ( Calcarius lapponicus ) in the MHNT collection

As with the snow bunting, the males are the first to be at the breeding site in order to define their territories. As soon as most of the snow has melted, they start building their nests. The nest, which is made of fine grass, moss and roots, is padded from the inside with grass and hair. The female lays 5–6 greenish to brownish eggs, about 21 mm in size. It is incubated once a year and it takes about 12-14 days for the chicks to hatch.

Systematics

The following five subspecies are distinguished:

• C. l. subcalcaratus , ( Brehm 1826) - Northern Canada and Greenland
• C. l. lapponicus ( Linnaeus , 1758) - Northern Eurasia
• C. l. kamtschaticus Portenko , 1937 - Northeast Siberia
• C. l. alascensis Ridgway , 1898 - extreme eastern Siberia, Alaska, and northwest Canada
• C. l. coloratus Ridgway , 1898 - Commander Islands

literature

• Richard Sale: A Complete Guide to Arctic Wildlife , published by Christopher Helm, London 2006, ISBN 0-7136-7039-8

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from October 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Sale, p. 327
3. ↑ http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/finches/ IOC World Bird List: Finches, euphonias, longspurs, Thrush-tanager

Web links

Commons : Spornammer ( Calcarius lapponicus )  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Calcarius lapponicus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed January 31 of 2009.
• Videos, photos and sound recordings of Calcarius lapponicus in the Internet Bird Collection