The Snow Bunting is a bird about the same the size of a sparrow. Adult males are about 8 inches in length. Anytime you have a group of Snow Buntings visit your yard, be sure to examine the flock thoughtfully as they often have a few Horned Larks or Lapland Longspurs traveling with them. The Snow Bunting is easiest to distinguish in flight with its large white wing patches and characteristic calls.
The male Snow Bunting has a white head and under parts. Both the male and female Snow Bunting have a black bill, black back, wings and tail. Adult female has her above parts streaked black and gray with white beneath. This is the plumage worn by both sexes on their breeding grounds.
The Snow Bunting, has a small, thick conical bill and displays large white patches on its wings. The Snow Bunting is one of two species of birds that often receives the nickname "Snowbird." Snow Buntings are an Arctic reproducing family of winter birds.
The Snow Bunting fashions its nest on the ground in a tuft of grassland. The nest is a big, well-assembled arrangement of dried grass and moss woven into compressed walls. The small deep center includes many feathers. After mating the female has a clutch size of four to six pale green white eggs spotted with raw umber and lavender. Generally the bird has one brood. Occasionally they will have two broods in their southern ranges.
When seeking the Snow Buntings look in the tundra, on beaches or barren fields. You will often find the birds in flocks. Sightings are regular around the buffalo fields and people observed them along roadsides and the shore. This bird winters repeatedly in the corn fieldsof Canada Northern USA and along the Great Lakes shoreline.
On the land, it is whiter than other orders of birds that live in like surroundings. To be stirred by Snow Buntings, watch them fly as it is then that they display huge white wing patches.
During open winters when snow fall is light they stay on the seaside low lands throughout this period and, because such regions are far off from humans, few people know of their presence. When storms of mid-winter bring heavy snow they suddenly appear about dry gardens and crowded weed fields. During most of the winter Snow Buntings live in uncovered grasslands. Snow Buntings are a very rugged bird and cold temperatures don't trouble them. However, when a snow storm hits they look for cover. When the biggest snow storms hit, Snow Buntings often come to back yard feeders either just before, during or directly after the storm. Usually they just stay for a day, so make sure you spend some time enjoying them while they are there.
