Smith's Longspur

Status Two sight records. A bird at Skir Dhu, Victoria County, on 6 August 1981, was reported in detail as an adult male Smith's Longspur by Eleanor Waldron, a visiting birder from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, who was first alerted by its "staccato rattle" call (letter to I.A. McLaren). She studied it in good light with binoculars at ranges as close as 10 m. Its striking black-and-white face pattern, white "shoulder-patches" and bright buff underparts were obvious, and she noted (correctly) that its legs were paler than in standard field-guide illustrations. Another bird seen more briefly by Shirley Cohrs on 1 October 1983 appeared to have diagnostic features of an immature or female of this species. It was on Cherry Hill Beach, Lunenburg County, where there were Lapland Longspurs for comparison. It was bright buff ("almost yellow") below, with "merely an impression of triangular mark" on the face. When the bird flew, it showed white outer tail feathers more conspicuous than those of Lapland Longspurs, described as more like those of a Vesper Sparrow.

Remarks Although both these sightings were by single observers, they were reported in convincing detail. The species nests in Alaska and extreme northwestern Canada and normally winters in the south-central United States, but there have been a few autumn and winter records from the east coast from Massachusetts south. The date of the Cape Breton Island bird is particularly unexpected.