General

McKay's Bunting: Large bunting with bright white body, black wing tips, and black markings on back and tail. Large bill, legs, and feet are black. Female has black-streaked back. Winter adult and juvenile are suffused with orange-brown on heads, sides and backs, and have yellow bills.

Range and Habitat

McKay's Bunting: Breeds on Hall and Saint Matthew islands in Bering Sea. Spends winters east to coast of western Alaska and Nunivak Island. Nests on tundra; found along coastal shores in winter.

Breeding and Nesting

McKay's Bunting: Three to five pale green eggs with light brown spots are laid in a nest made of grass and lined with finer materials. Incubation ranges from 10 to 16 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

McKay's Bunting: Eats seeds, spiders, flowers, buds, and insects; forages on the ground.

Readily Eats

Safflower, Apple Slices, Suet, Millet, Peanut Kernels, Fruit

Vocalization

McKay's Bunting: Song is a loud, trilled, flutelike warbling. Call is abrasive "tew."

Similar Species

McKay's Bunting: Snow Bunting breeding adult has a black or gray back, and more black on wings and tail. Female has a red-brown rump. In winter plumage shows more black on wings and tail, more black streaking on upperparts, and more of a red-brown wash on underparts.