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Smith's Longspur: a Case of Neglect by Alan 1

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Smith's Longspur: a Case of Neglect by Alan 1 2 Smith's Longspur: A Case of Neglect by Alan 1. Ryff On 29 September 1985 at longspur to lack the descriptive Chippewa Park in Thunder Bay, subsection "Plumages." Just Thunder Bay District, Mike fragments of Oberholser's (1974) Matheson and Alan Wormington description match the field notes flushed a peculiar looking taken on the bird at Thunder Bay. longspur whose tail flashed with Thus I had to seek information extra white. Wormington sub­ elsewhere. I studied the 62 sequently showed this bird to Nick specimens of Smith's Longspur at Escott and me. It proved to be a the University ofMichigan Smith's Longspur (Calcarius pictus). Museum of Zoology, Ann Arbor We observed it for over an hour at (hereafter UMMZ). Because four distances of 1-6 m. Since the of the specimens are juveniles, I streaks on its breast were more began to see the misleading conspicuous than the streaks of the aspects of certain field guides. Smith's Longspurs illustrated in Each juvenile was collected at the National Geographic Society Churchill, Manitoba: #83995, a (hereafter NGS) guide (1983), we male, on 5 August 1936; #83996, a I believed that this bird was an male, on 5 August 1936; #166586, a !' immature. But were we correct? female, on 28 July 1938; and This became a difficult question to #217737, a female labelled 22 days answer. old, on 24 July 1966. Frank M. Chapman had less In addition to specimens and available information than his publications, I used my field notes, counterparts of today. In 1911, he which Escott, Matheson, and I concluded that figure 6 of a Wormington verified at the time of I~ Fuertes' painting originally observation. Furthermore, I was published in Bird-Lore is a juvenile depend~nt on three of Wormington's Smith's Longspur because the black-and-white photographs of I white on its lesser wing coverts is the bird. inconspicuous (Chapman 1979b). The Smith's Longspur did not The longspur at Thunder Bay flock with the 450 or so Lapland lacked white epaulets. However, Longspurs (C. lapponicus) that were Ii Kenn Kaufman tells us that the scattered about the landfill at presence of a white shoulder patch Chippewa Park. Overall, it was is certain only for adult males in slightly smaller than the Lapland breeding pi umage (Farrand 1983). Longspurs. Either it stood with its In Bent's life histories (1968), plumage puffed out for minutes at Smith's is the only species of a time, or it slipped through the Alan 1. Ryff, 26116 Culver, St. Clair Shores, Michigan 48081 ONTARIO BIROS APRIL 19!17 3 grass like a mouse. Upon finding grey (NGS 1983; Oberholser 1974). grasshoppers (Arcididae), it In every season, the upper and stunned and dismembered them lower mandibles of Lapland by pecking, before eating them Longspurs match each other in piecemeal. colour (Oberho1ser 1974). The tail of the Smith's Longspur Description at Thunder Bay seemed shorter The tarsi, bill, tail, and belly were than the tails of the Lapland the primary characteristics used in Longspurs. Ifit was indeed identifying the bird as a Smith's possible, I failed to see whether the Longspur. Its tarsi were pale flesh rectrices were pointed, a diagnostic pink, unlike the dark tarsi of feature offirst-winter longspurs Lapland Longspur described by (Balch 1982). In flight, the outer Balch (1982). Its symmetrical bill two pairs of rectrices of the Smith's was more slender than the bills of Longspur were markedly white, nearby Lapland Longspurs. whereas the white on the tails of The bill proftle of McCown's the flying Laplands glinted weakly Longspur (c. mccownii), when or did not show. This is because compared to that of Smith's duskiness can dilute or obliterate Longspur, is highly asymmetrical, the white on the outermost pair of for the lower mandible angles a Lapland's rectrices (Roberts sharply upward, and the base of 1955). Furthermore, the next pair the bill is much wider (NGS 1983). are dark, with just a terminal The upper mandible of the wedge ofwhite (Roberts 1955). The Thunder Bay bird was dusky, with striking tail patterns of McCown's a darker tip, and its lower and Chestnut-collared Longspurs mandible was pink. With the have various amounts of white on exception of the bill profIle of every rectrix, except the middle McCown's Longspur, the fall and pair (Roberts 1955). winter bill of Smith's Longspur is The Smith's Longspur at unique among 10ngspurs because Thunder Bay had an incomplete the black or plumbeous-brown white eye ring, light-brown lores, a upper mandible contrasts with the pale-buffsupercilium, a thin black light lower mandible, which can be whisker, a clear buff chin and throat brownish white, ecru drab, orange that contrasted with the breast, and or light yellow. The tip of the bill is an auricular patch, palest in the darker (Oberholser 1974). The middle and margined with the same colours mentioned by Oberholser shade of dusk as on the nape. are illustrated in Ridgway (1912). The scapulars and the feathers This colour contrast of the of the back varied from dusky to mandibles is evident in the black. The margins of the feathers photographs on page 281 ofThe on the upper back were pale buff, Audubon Master Guide to Birding: while those on the lower back were Volume 3 (Farrand 1983). grey (yellow grey?). Some scapular In fall and winter, the bills of margins we~e grey and others were adult and immature Chestnut­ pale buff. The greater coverts collared Longspurs (c. ornatus) are terminated into a white wing bar. VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 4 Emerson Kemsies (Bent 1968: rufous (Smithe 1975). Other than 1632) contends that female and in the yellow or red light of a low _.. immature Smith's Longspurs "... sun, this colour is too vivid.The may be distinguished ... by their tertials and greater coverts of the buffy abdomens, which are UMMZ specimens of Lapland concolor with the breast, and not Longspur are duller, and can best almost white as in Lapland". be described as colour 136, or raw The colour of the breast, sides, sienna (Smithe 1975). i belly, flanks, and undertail coverts Kaufman is cautious concerning II of the bird at Thunder Bay was the wing colour of Lapland uniformly soft like winter grass. Longspur: "Many winter birds of Smithe (1975) labelled the colour both sexes have extensive rufous in II I as pale pinkish buff (colour 121 the wings on the edges ofthe D). Juvenile specimen #83995 greater coverts, tertials, and I" (UMMZ) has this colour on its secondaries". Then Kaufman gives belly. an absolute: "Smith's Longspur . I never has ... obvious rufous on . Identification Problems wings" (Farrand 1983:278). So much for the bird's description, Red combines in different let us go into the controversies. amounts with yellow, black, and The throats and bellies of the four white to form the hues, shades, and juvenile specimens in UMMZ are tints of brown, cinnamon, and pale buff, but their upper breasts rufous. Since some eyes are more are a much darker buff. This sensitive to perceiving red than contrast can cause confusion with others, the recognition ofobvious juvenile and immature Lapland rufous or cinnamon is relative, Longspurs, whose breasts are buffy especially when the two colours and bellies are whitish (Bent 1968). are in a combination. Where does one draw the line The tertials and greater coverts between a pale-buff and an off­ of the Smith's Longspur at white belly? Thunder Bay were the same colour In addition to noting the as those of the four juvenile Lapland's white belly and specimens at UMMZ. Thin rufous, undertail, the NGS guide instructs like a watercolour wash, overlays us to compare the wing patterns of the cinnamon tertials and greater Lapland and Smith's Longspurs. coverts of these specimens, giving The guide focuses on the wing of their wings an eye-catching the Lapland: "Note also, especially quality, which is precisely what the in winter plumages, the reddish dull yellow-brown wings of the tertials and greater coverts" (p. adult specimens lack. The colour 410). This is what the Smith's of the wings, therefore, is a means Longspur is supposed to lack. of recognizing juvenile and, hence, However, the NGS artist immature Smith's Longspurs. erroneously illustrated the "reddish" A longspur leaves the nest in wings of the immature female and juvenile plumage and goes through juvenile Laplands by depicting postjuvenile moult to attain them as colour 140, or Pratt's immature, or first-winter, plumage. ONTARIO BIRDS APRIL 1987 5 This is a partial moult; the bird I described this colour as rusty sheds its body plumage and, at in my field notes. At the time I was least, its lesser wing coverts, but ignorant of Ridgway's (1912) and keeps its rectrices, remiges, and Smithe's (1975) subtle vocabulary. greater coverts (Dwight 1975). I still maintain that some observers Janet Hinshaw of the UMMZ would call the colour rufous. staff helped me classifY the colour Therefore, I prefer Ridgway's name on the outer webs of the tertials of cinnamon rufous. and greater coverts of the four The tertials and greater coverts juvenile specimens. Smithe (1975) of the winter male Smith's labelled the colour tawny (colour Longspur illustrated on page 411 38), with highlights ofclay (colour of the NGS guide (1983) are those 123 B). Ridgway (1912) called it of an immature. Their colour cinnamon rufous (plate XIV), with resembles the juvenile specimens highlights of ochraceous tawny at UMMZ. The wing of the female (plate XV).
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