Lapland Longspur
Lapland Longspur has held roughly steady: up 3% on the route-weighted index since 1984.
About the Lapland Longspur
The Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) is a North American member of the Longspurs & Snow Buntings (Calcariidae). In this analysis it is grouped with the grassland birds.
- Size
- 5.5–7 in long (14–18 cm) — a small ground songbird (typical for the family)
- Habitat
- Open grasslands, prairie, pasture and hayfields.
- Diet
- Seeds and insects gathered from grasses and the ground.
- Range
- Recorded on 27 Breeding Bird Survey routes across 1 state, most concentrated in the BCR 2.
- Family
- Calcariidae · Grassland birds
Notable Lapland Longspur Trends
No notable trend signals for Lapland Longspur. See the full index history below.
Lapland Longspur Population Forecast
If the recent trend holds, Lapland Longspur is projected to fall about 27% by 2029 — from 0.14 in 2024 to a central estimate of 0.10 (95% range 0.00–0.26). A 5-year backtest shows a typical error of ±19%, with 100% of held-out values landing inside the 95% band.
| Year | Projected index | 95% low | 95% high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.26 |
| 2026 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.26 |
| 2027 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.26 |
| 2028 | 0.11 | 0.00 | 0.26 |
| 2029 | 0.10 | 0.00 | 0.26 |
Where the Lapland Longspur Is Detected
BBS routes recording Lapland Longspur, sized by most recent count.
Lapland Longspur Population Trend by State
| Alaska | -53% | 1984 | 27 |
Lapland Longspur Population Trend by Region
Bird Conservation Regions are the ecological unit for trends.
| BCR 2 | -16% | 1986 | 15 |
| BCR 3 | +111% | 1995 | 4 |
| BCR 4 | -99% | 1986 | 7 |
Lapland Longspur Conservation Status
Our route-weighted index shows it up about 3% since 1984. Grassland birds are North America's steepest-declining group, down roughly 50% since 1970 as prairie and pasture were lost.
Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22. Trend is a route-weighted relative-abundance index, not an absolute population.