Western Bird Guide: Birds of the Rockies and West to the Pacific

by Charles K. Reed

ALASKAN LONGSPUR.

536a. Calcarius lapponicus alascensis. 6½ inches.

Their breeding grounds are in the northern part of Alaska in summer, and in winter coming as far south as Oregon and Colorado, when they may be frequently found in with flocks of [Snow Buntings], and, like the Snowflakes, they breed on the ground in a depression in the moss or under some boulder, making their nest of grass and lining it with feathers. Their four to six eggs are grayish, nearly covered with spots and blotches of shades of dark brown (.80 × .60).