Snow Bunting

Description:

Head white with a blackish collar, rump black It is fairly large and long-winged for a bunting, 15–18 cm (5.9–7.1 in) long and with a wingspan of 32–38 cm (13–15 in), and weighing 26–50 g (0.92–1.76 oz). In flight, it is easily identified by its large white wing patches. The breeding male is unmistakable, with all white plumage and a black back; the breeding female is grey-black where the male is solid black. In winter plumage, both sexes are mottled pale ginger, blackish and white above, and pale ginger and white below, with the males having more white than the females. The bill is yellow with a black tip, all black in summer males. Unlike most passerines, it has feathered tarsi, an adaptation to its harsh environment. Sometimes colloquially called a snowflake, is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is an arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere.