Calcarius
Sign in to saveThe longspurs, genus Calcarius, are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the thick-billed longspur, Rhyncophanes mccownii, which is now placed in a separate genus.
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- Emberizidae
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- Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus) (52174003933).jpg
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- Lapland Longspur
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The longspurs, genus Calcarius, are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the thick-billed longspur, Rhyncophanes mccownii, which is now placed in a separate genus.
==Taxonomy== The genus Calcarius was introduced in 1802 by the German naturalist Johann Matthäus Bechstein to accommodate a single species, Fringilla lapponica Linnaeus 1758, which therefore becomes the type species by monotypy. The genus name is from Latin calcaria meaning "spurs".