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 generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the longspur family

Calcariidae Calcariidae is a small family (biology), 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 ...

. 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 the snow bunting. As the ''

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

'' buntings are nested within the '' Calcarius''

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

, their closest relatives are the longspurs. McKay's bunting breeds on two islands in the

Bering Sea The Bering Sea ( , ; rus, Бе́рингово мо́ре, r=Béringovo móre, p=ˈbʲerʲɪnɡəvə ˈmorʲe) is a marginal sea of the Northern Pacific Ocean. It forms, along with the Bering Strait, the divide between the two largest landmasse ...

, St. Matthew and

Hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

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 so ...

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

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 elongated section at the rear end of a bilaterian animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage extending backwards from the midline of the torso. In vertebrate animals that evolution, evolved to los ...

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 Pl ...

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 19,481 individuals. Although under no immediate threat, it is susceptible to devastation by any introduced

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

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 slend ...

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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...

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 McKay's bunting (''Plectrophenax hyperboreus'') is a passerine bird in the longspur family Calcariidae. It is most closely related to the snow bunting (''P. nivalis''). Hybrids between the two species have been observed, leading some authorities ...

Native birds of Alaska

Taxa named by Robert Ridgway Endemic birds of the United States Endemic fauna of Alaska