Chestnut-collared LongspurΒ (Calcarius ornatus), male, family Calcariidae, order Passeriformes, Pawnee Grasslands, Northern CO, USA
Longspurs and Snow Buntings, now in their own family together, were once in the Emberizidae (old world sparrows, buntings, and some finches), along with the new world sparrows.
Both groups were split off the Emberezidae in the 2010s.
Longspurs are actually not that closely related to sparrows of either continent, as was once thought, and are actually more closely related to the cardinal and tanager families.
photographs by LJ Gridley


















