Chestnut-collared Longspur

The Chestnut-collared Longspur is a small, ground-dwelling songbird tightly tied to native shortgrass prairie of the northern Great Plains, one of North America's most imperiled ecosystems. Its bold breeding plumage and distinctive tail pattern make it one of the more striking longspurs when seen well.

Breeding males show solidly black underparts, a rich chestnut band across the nape (the 'collar' of the name), and a buffy-yellow face, a dramatic combination against the pale grassland backdrop. In flight, both sexes reveal a distinctive tail pattern: mostly white with a black terminal band, useful for identification even on much plainer nonbreeding and female birds, which are streaky brown overall.

The species has declined significantly as native shortgrass prairie has been converted to cropland, and it remains a priority species for grassland bird conservation across its range.

Key Field Marks

• Breeding male: black underparts, chestnut collar across the nape, buffy-yellow face
• Female/winter: streaky brown overall, much plainer
• Tail pattern: mostly white with a black terminal band, visible in flight in all plumages

Similar Species

• McCown's/Thick-billed Longspur: shows a different tail pattern, with black forming an inverted-T or anchor shape rather than a simple terminal band, and a notably thicker bill
• Lapland Longspur: has a rustier nape and a dark ear patch rather than the black underparts and chestnut collar of breeding male Chestnut-collared

The tail pattern is often the quickest way to distinguish this species from other longspurs in flight, even when plumage details are hard to see.

Chestnut-collared Longspurs breed in native shortgrass and mixed-grass prairie of the northern Great Plains, from southern Canada (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) south through Montana and the Dakotas to Colorado and Kansas, favoring relatively short, sparse grass cover.

In winter, the species moves to shortgrass habitats of the southern Great Plains, Texas, and northern Mexico. Because it depends on intact native prairie with a particular grass height and structure, the species has declined substantially as native grassland has been plowed for agriculture across much of its breeding range.

Behavior

This species forages and nests on the ground within short grass, often walking or running rather than hopping, and can be inconspicuous except when males sing from low perches or in flight.

Voice

The song is a sweet, tinkling, warbling series of notes, often given during a brief flight display over the prairie.

Feeding

Diet includes seeds and insects gathered from the ground, with insects especially important during the breeding season.

Nesting and Breeding

The nest is a shallow, grass-lined cup built directly on the ground, often beside a small clump of grass or cow dung for slight cover. Clutches typically contain 3-5 pale eggs with dark markings.