McKay's Bunting

Plectrophenax hyperboreusOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Codes: Common Name: MKBU Scientific Name: PLEHYP ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179535

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

McKay's Bunting

McKay's Bunting: Large bunting, bright white body, black wing tips, black markings on back and tail. Large bill, legs, and feet are black. Said to be the whitest of all North American songbirds. Forages on ground. Swift flight, alternates raping wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "tew"

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

● Breeding & 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.

● 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.

Flight Pattern

Swift flight with series of rapid wing beats alternating with brief periods of wings pulled to sides.

McKay's Bunting Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & 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.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationUncommon to fairly common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight1.9 Ounces

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

McKay's Bunting

McKay's Bunting

Flight Pattern