McKay's bunting (''Plectrophenax hyperboreus'') is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the

longspur The longspurs, genus ''Calcarius'', are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the thick-billed longspur, ''Rhyncophanes mccownii'', which is now p ...

family

Calcariidae Calcariidae is a small family of passerine birds. It includes longspurs and snow buntings. There are six species in three genera worldwide, found mainly in North America and Eurasia. They are migratory and can live in a variety of habitats includ ...

. It is most closely related to the

snow bunting The snow bunting (''Plectrophenax nivalis'') is a passerine bird in the family Calcariidae. It is an Arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere. There are small isolated populations on a few ...

(''P. nivalis''). Hybrids between the two species have been observed, leading some authorities to treat McKay's as a subspecies of snow bunting. As the ''

Plectrophenax ''Plectrophenax'' is a small genus of passerine birds of the longspur family Calcariidae. Taxonomy The genus ''Plectrophenax'' was introduced in 1882 by the Norwegian born zoologist Leonhard Stejneger with the snow bunting as the type species. ...

'' buntings are nested within the ''

Calcarius The longspurs, genus ''Calcarius'', are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the thick-billed longspur, ''Rhyncophanes mccownii'', which is now ...

'' clade, their closest relatives are the

s. McKay's bunting breeds on two islands in the Bering Sea, St. Matthew and Hall islands, and winters on the western coast of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S. ...

Description

This species closely resembles snow bunting in all plumages, but is whiter overall. The breeding plumage of the male is almost purely white, with only small areas of black on the wingtips and tail. The breeding female has a streaked back. Non-breeding birds also have warm brown patches on cheeks, crown, and the sides of the neck. McKay's bunting is larger on average than the snow bunting. It is long and weighs from , with an average of .''Sparrows and Buntings: A Guide to the Sparrows and Buntings of North America and the World'' by Clive Byers & Urban Olsson. Houghton Mifflin (1995). .''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' by John B. Dunning Jr. (Editor). CRC Press (1992), . Among standard measurements, the wing chord is , the

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

is , the

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

is and the tarsus is .

Ecology

This bunting nests on shingle beaches in hollow drift logs and rock crevices. Winters on coastal marshes, shingle beaches, and agricultural fields. Feeding habits are thought to be similar to snow bunting, which in winter consumes seeds from weeds and grasses, and in summer has a mixed diet of seeds, buds, and insects.

Status

The population of this species is estimated at less than 6,000 individuals. Although under no immediate threat, it is susceptible to devastation by any introduced rats,

weasel Weasels are mammals of the genus ''Mustela'' of the family Mustelidae. The genus ''Mustela'' includes the least weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets and European mink. Members of this genus are small, active predators, with long and slender b ...

s or

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

es. The name of this bird honors the American naturalist Charles McKay.

References

* Lyon, B., and R. Montgomerie. 1995. ''Snow Bunting and McKay’s Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis and Plectrophenax hyperboreus)''. In ''The Birds of North America, No. 198–199.'' (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, and The American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C.

Articles

* Maley JM & Winker K. (2010). ''Diversification at high latitudes: speciation of buntings in the genus Plectrophenax inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear markers''. Molecular Ecology vol 19, no 4., p. 785–797. * Maley JM & Winker K. (2007). ''Use of juvenal plumage in diagnosing species limits: an example using buntings in the genus Plectrophenax''. Auk vol 124, no. 3. p. 907-915 * Rogers, J. (2005). ''Identifying McKay’s Bunting''. Birding vol 37 , no 6. p. 618-626. * Johnson JA, Matsuoka SM, Ruthrauff DR, Litzow MA & Dementyev MN. (2004). ''Additions to the avifauna of St. Matthew Island, Bering Sea''. Western Birds. vol 35, no 1. p. 50-52. * Winker K, Gibson DD, Sowls AL, Lawhead BE, Martin PD, Hoberg EP & Causey D. (2002). ''The birds of St. Matthew Island, Bering Sea''. Wilson Bulletin. vol 114, no 4. p. 491-509. * Lyon B & Montgomerie R. (1995). ''Snow Bunting and McKay's Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis and Plectrophenax hyperboreus)''. Birds of North America. vol 0, no 198–199. p. 1-28. * Sealy SG. (1972). ''Additional Winter Records of the Mckay's Bunting''. Canadian Field-Naturalist. vol 86, no 4. p. 386-388. * Sealy SG. (1969). ''Apparent Hybridization between Snow Bunting and Mckay's Bunting on St-Lawrence Island Alaska USA''. Auk. vol 86, no 2. p. 350-351.

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1087772 McKay's bunting Native birds of Alaska McKay's bunting Taxa named by Robert Ridgway Endemic fauna of Alaska