Calcariidae

Calcariidae, the longspurs and snow buntings, is a family of six species of small passerine birds in three genera: Calcarius, with the Lapland longspur, Smith's longspur and chestnut-collared longspur; Plectrophenax, with the snow bunting and McKay's bunting; and the monotypic Rhynchophanes, the thick-billed longspur. They are found mainly across North America and Eurasia; the snow bunting and Lapland longspur occur on both continents, while the other four species are confined to North America. These are small birds, 20 to 42 grams, in brown, grey and white plumage with dark eyes, migratory, and able to live in habitats ranging from grasslands and prairies to tundra, mountains and beaches, where they forage on the ground for insects, seeds and grasses.