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Plectrophenax nivalis

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Snow Bunting

G5Secure Found in 11 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.104471
Element CodeABPBXA8010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyCalcariidae
GenusPlectrophenax
Other Common Names
Bruant des neiges (FR) snow bunting (EN)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Constitutes a superspecies with P. hyperboreus and may be conspecific with it (AOU 1998).
Conservation Status
Rank MethodExpertise without calculation
Review Date2016-04-09
Change Date1996-12-04
Range Extent Comments
BREEDS: circumpolar in Arctic and sub-arctic regions. In North America, from Alaska across northern Canada (including arctic islands) to Greenland. WINTERS: In North America, from west-central and southern Alaska, northwestern British Columbia across southern Canada, south to northern California, Colorado, central Kansas, and North Carolina. Accidental or casual in Hawaii.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

BREEDING: Arctic rocky shores, cliffs, stony escarpments and dry tundra (AOU 1983). May venture far out on ice-covered Arctic Ocean (Johnson and Herter 1989). In northwestern British Columbia nests in rocky alpine habitats (Campbell et al. 2001). Nests on ground in bare rocky areas; nest usually well hidden in crevice. May also nest in bird house, cabin, pipeline support, or other structure, or under beach debris. NON-BREEDING:in migration and winter in grassy or weedy fields, stubble, and along roadsides and shores of lakes and oceans (AOU 1983).

Ecology

Gregarious in winter; often in large flocks, which may include Lapland longspurs and horned larks.

Reproduction

Egg laying begins in early June in Beaufort Sea area. Clutch size 3-9 (usually 4-7). Incubation 10-16 (usually 12-13) days, by female (male brings food). Most eggs hatch before end of June. Nestlings altricial. Young tended by both parents, leave nest 10-17 (usually 12-14) days after hatching.
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceousAlpineTundraSand/duneBare rock/talus/screeCliffCropland/hedgerow
Other Nations (2)
CanadaN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
SaskatchewanS5NYes
ManitobaS4NYes
AlbertaS5NYes
NunavutS4BYes
New BrunswickS5NYes
British ColumbiaS4B,S5NYes
Nova ScotiaS5NYes
LabradorS4B,S5MYes
Yukon TerritoryS3B,S4MYes
Northwest TerritoriesS4Yes
Island of NewfoundlandS2N,S5MYes
OntarioS4NYes
Prince Edward IslandS5NYes
QuebecS4BYes
United StatesN5B,N5N
ProvinceRankNative
VirginiaSNRNYes
PennsylvaniaS4NYes
IndianaS3NYes
MichiganSNRNYes
NebraskaSNRNYes
IdahoS4NYes
ColoradoSNAYes
OregonS4NYes
MinnesotaSNRNYes
MarylandS1NYes
New HampshireSNAYes
VermontS4NYes
UtahS3NYes
IllinoisSNAYes
WyomingS5NYes
WashingtonS3NYes
TennesseeS2NYes
OhioSNRNYes
WisconsinSNAYes
District of ColumbiaS1NYes
North DakotaSNRNYes
MassachusettsS5NYes
MontanaS5NYes
AlaskaS5Yes
New JerseyS4NYes
DelawareS1NYes
KentuckySNAYes
North CarolinaSNAYes
New YorkS5NYes
GeorgiaS3Yes
South CarolinaSNAYes
Rhode IslandSNAYes
West VirginiaS1NYes
IowaSNAYes
MaineS4NYes
MissouriSNAYes
ConnecticutSNAYes
South DakotaS4NYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)
11.1 - Habitat shifting & alterationPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)

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Roadless Areas (11)
Alaska (4)
AreaForestAcres
Boston BarChugach National Forest53,617
KartaTongass National Forest52,117
Kenai LakeChugach National Forest213,172
Roaded DonutChugach National Forest968
Minnesota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Phantom LakeSuperior National Forest6,521
New Hampshire (2)
AreaForestAcres
JobildunkWhite Mountain National Forest3,660
Kinsman MountainWhite Mountain National Forest8,999
North Carolina (2)
AreaForestAcres
Graveyard Ridge (addition)Pisgah National Forest1,958
Sam Knob (addition)Pisgah National Forest2,576
Oregon (1)
AreaForestAcres
TahkenitchSiuslaw National Forest5,799
Tennessee (1)
AreaForestAcres
Rogers RidgeCherokee National Forest4,738
References (19)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  4. Bazely, D. R. 1987. Snow buntings feeding on leaves of salt-marsh grass during spring migration. Condor 89:190-192.
  5. Campbell, R. W., N. K. Dawe, I. McTaggart-Cowan, J. M. Cooper, G. W. Kaiser, A. C. Stewart, and M. C. E. McNall. 2001. The birds of British Columbia. Volume 4. Passerines: wood-warblers through Old World sparrows. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver. 739 pages.
  6. Godfrey, W.E. 1966. The birds of Canada. National Museums of Canada. Ottawa. 428 pp.
  7. Harrison, C. 1978. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Collins, Cleveland, Ohio.
  8. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  9. Johnson, S. R. and D. R. Herter. 1989. The Birds of the Beaufort Sea. BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., Anchorage, Alaska. 372 pp.
  10. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  11. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  12. National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
  13. Nethersole-Thompson, D. 1966. The snow bunting. xii + 316 pp.
  14. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  15. Terres, J. K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.
  16. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  17. Tinbergen, N. 1939. The behavior of the snow bunting in spring. Trans. Linn. Soc. 5. 94 pp.
  18. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  19. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.