Smith's Longspur

Calcarius pictus Order: Passeriformes Family: Calcariidae (Longspurs and Snow Buntings)
Calcarius pictus Order: Passeriformes Family: Calcariidae (Longspurs and Snow Buntings)

This exuberantly promiscuous species is especially well known for being polygynandrous—that is, each female mates with two or three males to produce her single clutch of eggs, at the same time that each male mates with two or more females.

Smith’s Longspurs, which breed on the tundra, appear in western Minnesota and, less regularly, along the North Shore of Lake Superior, during migration just about every year. But the simplest, easiest place for most birders to add it to their lifelist is the Stuttgart Municipal Airport in Arkansas in midwinter.

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