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Thick-billed Longspur

May 6, 2022
Their burbling song evokes the high plains.
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A Thick-billed Longspur sits on a strand of barbed wire. The bird looks to its left, and displays a black throat, speckled belly, white eyebrow, and brown patterned wings. Expand Image
© G. Russell / CC

It can feel like there’s nowhere to hide in the shortgrass prairie. But the Thick-billed Longspur calls this place home. The bird’s burbling song helps create the high plains’ soundscape. The species was formerly named McCown’s Longspur after a Confederate general who participated in genocide against Native Americans. In 2020, after pressure from the “Bird Names for Birds” movement and others, the species was renamed for its thick bill, which is pale on females and black on breeding males. 

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BirdNote®

Thick-billed Longspur

Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote.

In the shortgrass prairie of eastern Montana, it can feel like there’s nowhere to hide, especially in a pasture that’s just been grazed by cattle. But many birds call this region home, including the Thick-billed Longspur.

[Thick-billed Longspur song, ML 191119, 0:17-0:22]

The bird’s long, burbling song helps create the summer soundscape of the high plains. Male Thick-billed Longspurs sing in short display flights, showing off the white undersides of their wings.
    
[Thick-billed Longspur song, ML 191119]

The species was formerly named McCown’s Longspur, after John McCown, a Confederate general who participated in genocide against Native Americans. In 2020, after pressure from the “Bird Names for Birds” movement and others, the species was renamed after its distinctive thick bill, which is pale and pinkish on females and black on breeding males. 

Males also have black chests and crowns, while the females have a faintly colored breast and brown-streaked heads. A pair of longspurs often raises two broods of eggs together in the summer. In very low grass, they often tuck their nest beside a prickly pear cactus.

The bird’s range has shrunk since 1900 due to loss and degradation of shortgrass prairie habitat. You can help protect the Thick-billed Longspur by supporting grassland conservation. Start at our website, BirdNote dot ORG. I’m Ariana Remmel.

###

Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Thick-billed Longspur ML 191119 recorded by W. Hershberger.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote      May 2022    Narrator: Ariana Remmel

ID# TBLO-01-2022-05-06        TBLO-01

References
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/mcclon/cur/introduction
https://abcbirds.org/bird/thick-billed-longspur/ 
https://www.audubon.org/news/the-mccowns-longspur-no-more-debate-over-b… 
 

Conor Gearin
Writer
Ariana Remmel
Narrator
Tags: habitat protection, grassland

Related Resources

Thick-billed Longspur - American Bird ConservancyMeet the people saving Canada’s native grasslandsThe Nature Conservancy in Montana Building an American Serengeti in Montana | SierraVideo: Thick-billed Longspur singing

More About These Birds

McCown's Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii)

Rhynchophanes mccownii

Sights & Sounds

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

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