Scientific name: Calcarius lapponicus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Bird group: Buntings
Field characters. 16 cm. Larger and heavier built than Reed Bunting, with a long primary projection. Male in summer plumage with black head, broad white supercilium, unstreaked rufous neck patch, brown upperparts with long buff and black lines, and white underparts. Female similar to male, but crown feathers with broad buff edges, broad buff supercilium extending around ear-coverts and joining whitish moustachial stripe, greyish-buff ear-coverts with dark spot and black malar stripe. Both sexes have yellow bill with black tip. In autumn and winter rufous neck and black feathers concealed by buff feather edges, but greater coverts with broad rufous edges and white tips, forming conspicuous wing bar. In summer, lives in pairs and often perches in bushes; in winter solitary or in flocks, sometimes with other species, walking and running on open terrain in Common Skylark-like way. Often migrates together with Skylarks.
Voice. Call 'teu' and 'trrrk'. Song resembles Snow Bunting and Skylark.
Distribution. Common breeding bird in north, rather scarce on migration and in winter along NW European coasts.
Habitat. In summer in mountains near tree line, near low willows and birches, often in swampy habitat. In winter along coasts and in fields.
Food. In summer insects and seeds, in winter seeds. Feeds on the ground.