Bird of the Week – Smith’s Longspur
The bird species in Alaska that WC has probably worked hardest to photograph is the Smith’s Longspur.
Smith’s Longspur, Denali Highway, Alaska
Uncommon, highly localized and skulky, WC has spent days and hiked miles to photograph these birds. It’s worth it, too. Besides everything else, the species is easily disturbed, so WC will be vague about where to find it.
In addition to being difficult to find and photograph, Birds of North America notes another unusual characteristic:
Smith’s Longspurs have one of the most unusual social breeding systems known among songbirds. Unlike the majority of birds that form socially monogamous relationships for breeding, Smith’s Longspurs are polygynandrous—each female pairs and copulates with two or three males for a single clutch of eggs, at the same time that each male pairs and copulates with two or more females. Males do not defend territories, but instead guard females by following them closely and compete for fertilizations by copulating frequently in order to dilute or displace sperm from other males. Over a period of one week in the early spring, a female longspur will copulate over 350 times on average; this is one of the highest copulation rates of any bird. Males are well-equipped to deliver such large numbers of ejaculates—their testes are about double the mass of those of the monogamous and congeneric Lapland Longspur (C. lapponicus).
WC is sure the Rev. Jerry Prevo would disapprove.
Camera geek stuff: f5.7, 1/250, ISO160.
For more bird photos, please visit Frozen Feather Images.
The last time this was studied (and published) was in the early 1990’s. Here’s a link to the article published in The Auk (1992).
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v109n03/p0563-p0575.pdf
nice photo
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/06/09/3667882/federal-court-decision-correct-roe-v-wade-almost-entirely-dead/
Women’s reproductive rights under wingnut fire again.
Very sexy birds!
http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/the-pencilsword-on-a-plate
The differences between the haves and have nots eloquently displayed in cartoon.
Get out there and vote,people!!!
WC, we knew you were uncommon, and we have suspected you were highly localized.
But it’s out of character for you to confess that you are skulky.
I’m not into bird mating habits,but i wonder what the hell happened to these birds morals that make them so promiscuous? Do they just like the “swinging” lifestyle? Maybe their nests were lined with Playboy magazines. Seems like a sure fire way to dilute the gene pool in a hurry.Everyone will eventually be related to ever other bird. Thanks,WC,for showing that humans aren’t the only warped animals.