The Status and Occurrence of Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) in British Columbia. By Rick Toochin. Revised: June 12, 2023.

The Chestnut-collared Longspur (Calcarius ornatus) is a passerine species that breeds on the open Prairies from southeastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan to southern Manitoba, parts of north western Minnesota, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming and Montana (Sibley 2000, Hamilton et al. 2007). The species is a short distance migrant with the bulk of the population migrating south through the Prairie states to winter from southern Arizona, New Mexico, eastern Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to south into northern central Mexico (Sibley 2000, Hamilton et al. 2007). Birds have shown up as vagrants throughout the eastern Provinces and States (Sibley 2000, Hamilton et al. 2007). The Chestnut-collared Longspur was only on the California Bird Records Committee review list of species for the state between the years 1972-73, but is no longer a review species of the committee because the species is reported annually in the state in numbers each year (Hamilton et al. 2007). In Oregon the Chestnut-collared Longspur is no longer a review species for the Oregon Bird Records Committee with over twenty accepted records (OFO 2012). The Chestnut-collared Longspur is still a rare bird in Washington with seven accepted state records to 2012 (Wahl et al. 2005, WBRC 2012). The Chestnut-collared Longspur is accidental in Alaska with only one good sight record for the State (West 2008). In British Columbia the Chestnut-collared Longspur is a casual species with twenty records which seem to have increased in frequency since 2007 (Campbell et al. 2001, Toochin et al. 2013c). 

The identification of adult male breeding plumaged Chestnut-collared Longspurs is straight-forward and should not give an observer any difficulty. The juvenile plumage is an entirely different story and can be the cause of great confusion amongst observers with little or no experience with this species. It is important to note that the Chestnut-collared Longspur is the smallest of the four North American Longspur species. This species is characterized by having a short tail, short wings and primary projection and a round head shape with a small bill (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). Adult males hold their breeding plumage from March till August (Sibley 2000). The breeding-plumaged males have a large rufous nape with a black crown that starts from the top of the bill base to the back of the upper neck (Dunn and Beadle 1998). The white on the fore crown goes over the eye to well behind the eye (Sibley 2000). This is followed by a black line that goes from the dark eyes behind the eye and slightly around the upper outer auricular area (Sibley 2000). The bill is small and pale with yellow starting from the area between the bill and eye and going down the throat and encompasses the entire inner auricular area of the face (Sibley 2000). The upper side of the neck is pale then is followed by a black breast, sides and lower belly with white under tail coverts (Dunn and Beadle 1998). The wings are dark with black-centered feathers with brown edges on the upper back, brown wings with two light white wing bars, dark black centered tertial feathers that have brown edges (Sibley 2000). The upper shoulder area is all back with a white bar that can be hidden (Dunn and Beadle 1998). The folded primaries are brown with dark-centered feathers with a short primary projection (Dunn and Beadle 1998). In flight the underside of the wing is entirely white in colour (Sibley 2000). The Chestnut-collared Longspur has the shortest tail of all the North American Longspurs (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The pattern is most easily seen in flight as an obvious black triangle with extra white on the outer tail feathers that cuts into the center of the tail (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). Adult female birds hold their breeding plumage from March till August (Sibley 2000). In breeding plumage the females are less spectacularly plumaged than the males (Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The black on the belly is reduced in overall colouration (Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The nape is rufous, but not as bright or as large in size (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The facial area is plainer with the auricular are buffy in pattern with a large black spot on the lower area of the auricular area (Sibley 2000). The eye stripe from the eye to the nape is thinner and not a dramatic looking (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). There is a thin light white eye ring around the eye and the throat is white not yellow in colour (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). Adult male and female, in winter plumage, are very buffy brown coloured; overall the males have a more subdued black breast (Dunn and Beadle 1998). Adult males and females have the same tail patterns and this pattern doesn’t change at any season (Dunn and Beadle 1998). Juveniles are a buffy pale sandy-brown in overall colouration (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The crown is buffy brown with dark streaks (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The eye stripe over the eye is buff colour with a dark rear auricular area on the face (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The eyes are dark and the small triangular bill is pale in colour (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). There is a bit of white that goes from the bill base down the lower auricular area and a dark malar stripe with a white throat (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The breast is buffy with dark blurry streaks that go down on to the flanks (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The undertail coverts are white and the tail pattern is the same as the adult (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The legs are pale (Sibley 2000). The back and wings are buffy brown-coloured with dark-centered feathers, giving the bird almost a dark streaked look on the back (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The rump is not streaked and is pale buffy-brown; this is especially noticeable in flight (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The underside of the open wing in flight is white (Sibley 2000). 

 

The song of the Chestnut-coloured Longspur is a sweet warbled “seet-sidee-tidee- zeek-zeerdi” that starts high in pitch and ends in a lower pitch which can be reminiscent of the falling trends of the song of a Western Meadowlark (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The flight call is a soft, husky two to three part “kidedel” or “kiddle” (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000).

 

The McCown’s Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) is a species that also lives on the Prairies but is very different in adult plumages to Chestnut-collared Longspur. The juvenile McCown’s Longspur is a pale bird that is grayish-buff in overall colouration and has a large pinkish bill and an unstreaked breast (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The McCown’s Longspur is a small bird that is only a little bit bigger to the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Sibley 2000, Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The McCown’s Longspur has a short tail, but has a long primary projection on the folded wing (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The tail pattern of the McCown’s Longspur is the most obvious and different of the longspurs (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The black tail band across the tip of the tail and the black that is found only on the innermost tail feathers, give the tail a perfect inverted T pattern (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The rest of the tail has extensive white feathers (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The call notes of the McCown’s Longspur include a soft “poik” and a short soft rattle (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000).

 

The Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) in breeding plumage can look superficially similar to a breeding-plumaged Chestnut-collared Longspur (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). There are some important structural differences between the two species (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The Lapland Longspur is a much larger, longer-bodied bird that has a long tail and a long primary projection (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The rufous nape of the male Lapland Longspur is a bit darker in colour to the Chestnut-collared Longspur (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). That is where the similarities end as Lapland Longspurs in breeding plumage has an entire black face and throat with a large yellow bill (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Dunn Alderfer 2011). The adult breeding-plumaged female Lapland Longspurs have a reduced rufous nape, but an extensive dark auricular patch, buff face, black breast band and rufous in the wings (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The outermost tail feather of the Lapland Longspur is white and the entire inner part of the tail is dark (Dunn and Beadle 1998). This makes the tail pattern completely different from a Chestnut-coloured Longspur (Sibley 2000). The juvenile Lapland Longspurs are like the adult females, but have buffier faces and have more reduced black on the breast (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). They also have extensive rufous in the wings (Sibley 2000). The calls of the Lapland Longspur are a dry mechanical rattle with a husky whistled “tleew” more similar in sound to a Snow Bunting (Sibley 2000).

 

The Smith Longspur (Calcarius pictus) is another species that, as an immature bird, can look similar to an immature Chestnut-collared Longspur and creates identification challenges (Dunn and Beadle 1998). Important structural differences are that Smith’s Longspur is a much larger, longer bodied bird that has a long tail and a long primary projection (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). In overall colouration, the immature Smith’s Longspur is an orangey-buff colour (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Dunn and Alderfer 2011). The head is flatter and larger in shape with the facial pattern buffy-coloured (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The crown is buff with dark streaks and the dark auricular area has a light spot in the central area (Sibley 2000). The malar stripe is buffy and thick with a dark thin line separating the pale throat (Dunn and Beadle 1998). The breast is all buffy-coloured with a few fine dark chest streaks that extend down onto the flanks (Dunn and Beadle 1998). The back and wings are buffy and have dark-centered feathers (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). On the open and folded wing are 2 white wing bars (Sibley 2000). The underwing is dark gray (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The tail has two outer tail feathers that are white, and the entire inner part of the tail is dark (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Sibley 2000). The flight call is similar to the Lapland Longspur, but is higher in pitch (Dunn and Beadle 1998, Dunn and Alderfer 2011).

With any out of season or possible rare Longspur the best thing observers can do is get pictures and document the bird properly.

In Canada the Chestnut-collared Longspur is, according to the latest COSEWIC report, classified as a threatened species (COSEWIC 2009). This species lives in native prairie grasslands which are threatened by habitat loss from both industrial agriculture practices and fragmentation from the energy sector (COSEWIC 2009). Nearly one quarter of the population of Chestnut-collared Longspurs are found in Canada, and the long term analysis of both Breeding Bird Surveys and Christmas Bird Count Data shows a 90 – 93% percent decline. In native grassland habitat, this species has shown growth in population sizes, but the overall trend is not good (COSEWIC 2009). In British Columbia the Chestnut-collared Longspur is a casually occurring species that has shown a noticeable increase in frequency of records since 2007. In the past few years this species has been recorded almost annually in the Province with most records coming from the south west coastal region. Of the twenty-three Provincial records for Chestnut-collared Longspur, eighteen of them come from the May-July period (Please see Table 1 & 2). In the few years better coverage of the Hope area has produced the most of the recent records. This area is a bottle neck point for migrants and the habitat around the Hope Airport is perfect for attracting migratory grassland passerines such as the Chestnut-collared Longspur, especially during the spring migration period of May to early June. It is entirely possible the birds seen in the Hope area are traveling up the Fraser River to the Cariboo region to prospect, given the good available habitat found in the region. Given the vast areas of British Columbia that do not receive regular observer coverage, it is entirely possible that the Chestnut-collared Longspur, like the Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii), could be found breeding somewhere in the interior of the Province in the future. In the future, summer reports of longspurs should be scrutinized extra carefully for this species. There are the odd summer records in southern British Columbia for Lapland Longspur, but any first summer or female plumaged birds should be photo documented as it is just as likely that the bird in question could be a Chestnut-collared Longspur. Fall records are extremely rare for the Province, but this could change as observers are more careful in checking longspurs encountered during the months of September through November. With the frequency the Chestnut-collared Longspur occurs in both California and Oregon it very likely that British Columbia will see more reports of this beautiful grassland gem in the future. As observer understanding of identification and migration timing increases so will the number of records. This is a species to be watched for in British Columbia again in the future.

1.(1) adult female July 8, 1921: (specimen) Kispiox River Valley north of Hazelton (Swarth 1924)

2.(1) adult female May 28, 1930: (specimen: NMC 24629) Tobacco Plains across the Kootenay River near Newgate (Anderson 1932)

3.(1) adult male June 18, 1972: David F. Halter (BC photo 224) Faber Islets, Barclay Sound (Hatler 1973, Crowell and Nehls 1975, Campbell et al. 2001)

4.(1) adult male June 2, 1973: John Toochin, mobs: Rannie Road, Pitt Meadows (Toochin 2013a)

5.(1) adult mid-May 1976: Mitlenach Island (Sirk et al. 1993, Toochin et al. 2013c)

6.(1) adult male May 1-3, 1977: Vic Goodwill, Ron Saterfield, mobs: Victoria Golf Course, Oak Bay (Davidson 1977, Crowell and Nehls 1977, Campbell et al. 2001)

7.(1) adult male July 8-10, 1981: Mark Daly, Brain M. Kautesk, WCW, mobs: Maplewood Flats, North Vancouver (Weber et al. 1982, Campbell et al. 2001)

8.(1 & 2) adult males May 29-30, 1984: shoreline along the Arrow Lakes at Nakusp (Rogers 1984, Campbell et al. 2001)

9.(1) fall plumage October 13, 1985: Ron Satterfield: Victoria (Anonymous 1986, Campbell 1986, Campbell et al. 2001)
10.(1) adult male July 1-4, 2002: Clara Ritcey, mobs (photo) Clearwater Valley Road, near Clearwater (Cecile 2002, Toochin et al. 2013c)

11.(1) near adult male June 17, 2007: Marlene Johnston, Gail Spitler (photo) Lardeau (Toochin et al. 2013c)

12.(1) adult male breeding plumage June 7, 2009: Louis Haviland, Rick Toochin: Sheringham Lighthouse, Shirley (Toochin 2012)

13.(1) adult male breeding plumage June 7, 2009: Jeremy Gatten, Jamie Fenneman (photo) Burton Creek, Burton (Toochin et al. 2013c)

14.(1) immature November 20, 2009: Rick Toochin: Gibsons Road, Chilliwack (Toochin 2012c)

15.(1) adult female June 5-8, 2010: Neil Hughes, Rick Toochin, mobs (photo) Hope Airport (Toochin 2012c)

16.(1) adult female June 16-18, 2011: GG, mobs: near Hope Airport [same bird as above returning?] (Toochin 2012c)

17.(1) adult male May 7, 2012: Tak Shabata, mobs (photo) South Jetty (Toochin 2013a) 

18.(1) adult male May 30, 2013: Rick Toochin: Hope Airport (Toochin 2013b)

19.(2-1) juveniles October 24-25, 2013: Mike Ashbee, mobs (photo) Cattle Point, Victoria (M. Ashbee Pers. Comm.).

20.(1) immature November 21, 2013: Rick Toochin, Maz Gotz: Dixon Road, Abbotsford (R. Toochin Pers. Comm.).
21.(1) immature October 19, 2015: Janice Arndt: Kokanee Provincial Park (D. Cecile Pers. Comm.)

22.(1) adult male June 8-9, 2017: Emily Griffith (photo) south end of Kinbasket Lake, north of Golden (J. Bradley Pers. Comm.)

23.(1) adult male calling April 28, 2020: Rick Toochin: York Road, Abbotsford (R. Toochin Pers. Comm.)

I wish to thank Barbara McKee for editing the article. I also want to thank James Bradley and Mike Ashbee for providing details on recent sightings of Chestnut-collared Longspur in the Province. I wish to thank Mike Ashbee and Peter Candido for the use of their photographs. All photos are used with permission of the photographer and are fully protected by copyright law.

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