Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Cladus: Telluraves
Cladus: Australaves
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Infraordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea
Familia: Calcariidae
Genera: Calcarius – Plectrophenax – Rhynchophanes
Name
Calcariidae Ridgway, 1901
References
Vernacular names
Deutsch: Sporn- und Schneeammern
English: Calcariid buntings
中文: 铁爪鹀科
Calcariidae is a small family of passerine birds. It includes longspurs and snow buntings. There are six species in three genera worldwide, found mainly in North America and Eurasia. They are migratory and can live in a variety of habitats including grasslands, prairies, tundra, mountains, and beaches.
Description
Members of Calcariidae range in mass from around 20 grams (0.71 oz) (the chestnut-collared longspur)[1] to around 42 grams (1.5 oz) (McKay's bunting).[2] Species have brown, grey, and white plumage, with dark brown or black irises. The legs of the snow bunting and McKay's bunting are dark gray or black, while legs of other species in the family range from dull pink to brown.
Taxonomy
The birds in Calcariidae were formerly assigned to the family Emberizidae (typically known as buntings in the Old World and sparrows in the New World).[3] A 2008 phylogenetic study by Alström and colleagues confirmed that the members of this family form a clade quite separated from the Emberizidae, with affinities instead with the New World warblers (Parulidae), cardinals (Cardinalidae) or tanagers (Thraupidae), though their exact relationships are unclear.[4] They proposed to place them in the tribe Calcariini,[4] but the International Ornithological Congress has placed them in a separate family in 2010.[3] Timing with the cytochrome b DNA suggests that the Calcariidae diverged from a common ancestor around 4.2–6.2 million years ago, around the beginning of the Pliocene, possibly soon after spread of grasslands in North America as the climate in the late Miocene became drier and cooler.[5]
Genera and species
Three genera—Calcarius (longspurs), Plectrophenax (snow-buntings), and Rhynchophanes—are recognised. Genetic analysis with cytochrome b DNA showed that the thick-billed longspur was most closely related to the two snow bunting species, and the three nested within the genus Calcarius. Smith's and the chestnut-collared longspur were each other's closest relatives (sister taxa).[5] The Lapland longspur likely diverged from an ornatus/pictus ancestor near the beginning of the Pliocene (4.4–6.2 million years ago) and the snow and McKay's buntings diverged within the last 100,000–125,000 years. Though they differ in appearance, Smith's and the collared longspurs likely only diverged around 1.5–2 million years ago, around the start of the Pleistocene.[5]
McKay's bunting is sometimes considered a subspecies of the snow bunting, and instances of the two species hybridizing have been reported.[6] However, a 2007 study by Maley and Winker found substantial differences in the juvenile plumage between the two groups, supporting a species-level division.[7] Other members of Calcariidae known to hybridize with each other are the thick-billed longspur and the chestnut-collared longspur.[8]
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
 |
Calcarius Bechstein, 1802 |
|
 |
Plectrophenax Stejneger, 1882 |
|
 |
Rhynchophanes Baird, 1858 |
|
Distribution and habitat
A snow bunting in Alaska. This species breeds mainly in the Arctic tundra and winters in northern temperate areas.
The range of the family is extensive. Of the six species within the family, the snow bunting and Lapland longspur are found both in both North America and Eurasia; the other four species are found only in North America.[3] The snow bunting breeds in northern latitudes in an extensive breeding range which consists of northern Alaska and Canada, the western and southern coasts of Greenland, and northern Scandinavia and Russia. The snow bunting winters throughout southern Canada and the northern United States in North America, and its Eurasian range includes the northern United Kingdom and a large band extending from Germany west through Poland and Ukraine to Mongolia and China.[9][10] Additionally, the snow bunting has been recorded as a vagrant to Algeria and Morocco in North Africa, the Balkans, Greece and Turkey, and Malta.[9] The Lapland longspur's range is similar to that of the snow bunting, breeding in northern Canada, Scandinavia, and Siberia, and coastal Alaska and Greenland and wintering in the northern United States and Canada, and in a band between approximately 45° and 55° latitude across Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Mongolia to the Sea of Japan.[11]
The ranges of the other species in the family are less expansive than those of the snow bunting and the Lapland longspur. McKay's bunting breeds solely on several islands in the Bering Sea, and winters primarily on the western coast of Alaska. Additionally, it has been reported occasionally in the Aleutian Islands, and has been a vagrant in British Columbia in Canada as well as Washington (state) and Oregon in the United States.[2][12] Smith's longspur breeds in Alaska and northern Canada, and winters in the central southern United States.[13] The chestnut-collared longspur's breeding range consists solely of prairie regions in the northern Great Plains and southern Canadian Prairies, while its winter range extends from the southern United States to central Mexico.[1] The breeding range of the thick-billed longspur is similar to that of the chestnut-collared longspur, but its winter range does not extend as far south, ending in northern Mexico.[14]
Members of Calcariidae generally inhabit open areas, including prairies, plains, shores, farmland, and beaches.[15] Parts of the snow bunting's range include mountainous areas.[16]
Behavior
The diet of species in this family consists of insects, seeds, and grasses. Species are diurnal, and forage by walking and picking up food from the ground.[1][11]
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Calcariidae.
Wikispecies has information related to Calcariidae.
Hill, Dorothy P.; Gould, Lorne K. "Chestnut-collared Longspur". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
Montgomery, Robert; Lyon, Bruce. "McKay's Bunting". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
Gill F, Donsker D (30 June 2013). Tanagers, Cardinals and allies. IOC World Bird List: Version 3.4. International Ornithologists’ Union. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
Alström P, Olsson U, Lei F, Wang HT, Gao W, Sundberg P (2008). "Phylogeny and classification of the Old World Emberizini (Aves, Passeriformes)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 47 (3): 960–73. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.12.007. PMID 18411062.
Klicka, John; Zink, Robert M.; Winke, K. (2003). "Longspurs and snow buntings: phylogeny and biogeography of a high-latitude clade (Calcarius)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 26 (2): 165–75. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00360-3. PMID 12565028.
Sealy, Spencer G. (1969). "Apparent Hybridization between Snow Bunting and McKay's Bunting on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska". The Auk. 86 (2): 350–351. doi:10.2307/4083511.
Maley, James M.; Winker, Kevin (2007). "Use of Juvenal Plumage in Diagnosing Species Limits: An Example Using Buntings in the Genus Plectrophenax". The Auk. 124 (3): 907–915. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2007)124[907:UOJPID]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 25150346.
MacDonald, Christie A.; Martin, Tracy; Ludkin, Rick; Hussell, David J.T.; Lamble, David; Love, Oliver P. (2012). "First Report of a Snow Bunting × Lapland Longspur Hybrid" (PDF). Arctic. 65 (3): 344–348. doi:10.14430/arctic4222.
BirdLife International (2016). "Plectrophenax nivalis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22721043A89345729. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22721043A89345729.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
Montgomerie, Robert; Lyon, Bruce. "Snow Bunting". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
Hussell, David J.; Montgomerie, Robert. "Lapland Longspur". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
BirdLife International (2020). "Plectrophenax hyperboreus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T22721046A137357547. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T22721046A137357547.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
Briskie, James V. "Smith's Longspur". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
With, Kimberley A. "McCown's Longspur". The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
Kaufman, Kenn (2011). Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding: Understanding what You See and Hear. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 433. ISBN 0547248326.
Mobley, Jason A. (2008). Birds of the World. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 580–81. ISBN 0761477756.
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