Lapland Longspur

Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) is a streaked ground bird whose breeding male has a black face and breast, chestnut nape and broad pale eyebrow. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds across circumpolar Arctic tundra, nests on the ground and feeds on insects during summer and seeds outside breeding, migrating south in flocks to open fields, steppe and coastal grassland. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).