McCown's Longspur

The Thick-billed Longspur (formerly and still commonly known as McCown's Longspur) is a specialized passerine native to the dry shortgrass prairies of North America. Renamed by the American Ornithological Society in 2020 to dissociate the bird from Confederate General John P. McCown, this species is highly adapted to sparse, open environments with minimal vegetation. During the spring, breeding males transform into strikingly patterned birds with bold black, grey, and chestnut markings. Although still categorized as Least Concern globally, their populations have suffered steep historic declines due to the loss and conversion of native shortgrass habitats.

Identifying the Thick-billed Longspur depends heavily on the season and gender, but key physical characters remain constant across all plumages.

Key Field Marks:

• The Bill: True to its modern name, this species features a notably thick, heavy, pinkish-grey conical bill that is larger and more stout than other longspur species.
• Tail Pattern: In flight, both sexes display a white tail with a distinct, dark, inverted 'T' pattern in the center.
• Breeding Male: Unmistakable with a solid black cap, a bold black crescent across the chest, a clean grey face and nape, and a prominent chestnut or rufous patch on the shoulder (median coverts).
• Females and Non-Breeding Birds: Discretely colored in sandy-buff tones with fine brown streaking, overall paler and less streaked than other longspurs. They retain the heavy bill and the distinctive inverted-T tail pattern.

Similar Species:

• Chestnut-collared Longspur: Breeding males have a black belly and an entirely dark tail structure with white outer triangles rather than an inverted T. Non-breeding birds are more heavily streaked on the underparts.
• Lapland Longspur: Possesses a much smaller, yellowish bill with a dark tip and lacks the clean white tail pattern with the dark inverted T.

The Thick-billed Longspur is a strict specialist of shortgrass prairies and high-plains steppe. They favor areas characterized by very short grasses, extensive bare ground, and low litter accumulation, such as lands heavily grazed by livestock, dry lakebeds, and fallow fields.

Geographic Range and Migration:

• Breeding Range: Primarily the northern Great Plains, including Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, western Nebraska, and southern parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan in Canada.
• Wintering Range: Arid grasslands, desert scrublands, and agricultural borders of the southwestern United States (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona) and northern Mexico.

Thick-billed Longspurs are ground-dwelling birds that forage by walking or running rather than hopping. They form large, nomadic flocks during the non-breeding season, often associating with Horned Larks and other longspurs.

Vocalizations & Courtship: During the breeding season, males perform spectacular aerial displays. The male flies up to 10–20 meters in the air, spreads his wings, and floats downward like a tiny parachute while pouring out a sweet, musical, warbling song. The common call is an abrupt, dry rattle or 'chup' sound given in transition or flight.

Nesting & Diet:

• Diet: Primarily insectivorous during the summer, favoring grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars to feed growing chicks. In winter, they transition almost entirely to eating seeds from grasses and weeds.
• Nesting: The nest is a shallow cup constructed of grasses, bark, and animal hair, built entirely by the female in a small excavation on the open ground, typically placed next to a protective grass tuft or dry cow manure.