The Lapland bunting is a very rare winter visitor in the UK, with the occasional pair breeding. Learn all about this tundra bird, including what it looks like, its call, favoured habitat and breeding with your expert birder’s guide. <\/p>

The Lapland bunting (Calcarius lapponicus<\/em>) is a very rare bird in the UK and a lot of birdwatchers, including very keen ones, have never seen one.<\/p>

However, if you spend a lot of time on the coast in autumn and winter, especially the east coast, you might well run into one.<\/p>

In this guide we take a closer look at the Lapland bunting, revealing what it looks like, its call, diet and breeding.<\/p>

Buntings guide<\/h4>
Buntings are a group of seed-eating birds that bear many of the same characteristics as finches. Learn all about these special songbirds, including six species to look out for in Britain, with your expert guide to buntings<\/a>.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Yellowhammer flying in a flock\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
Lapland bunting identification<\/h2>
The Lapland bunting can be confused with a skylark<\/a>. It has a similar shape to a lark, with a quite heavy body and long wings, and it is also often found in flocks of larks, including on migration.<\/p>
In the winter, in common with larks and other buntings, it forages on the ground for seeds. If you do find one, check several features: the yellow bill, blackish corners to its cheek, reddish shoulders, mottled black on the breast and a brown wing-bat bordered by white.<\/p>
<\/div><\/figure><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h2 id=\"h-lapland-bunting-call\">Lapland bunting call<\/h2><p>The Lapland bunting is a tricky bird to pick out. Actually, make that a \u201cticky-tick-tick, teu\u201d bird to make out.<\/p><p>That particular call, often heard from a silhouette overhead on autumn mornings, is the sign of a migrant Lapland bunting, a huge thrill for any birdwatcher.<\/p><p>Moving birds can, in theory, be heard almost anywhere. Meanwhile, although it has a fabulous, pleasing, slightly glassy song-phrase, the Lapland bunting is an extraordinarily shy, or lazy singer, the very antithesis of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/yellowhammer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">yellowhammer<\/a>.<\/p><p>It may sing on its breeding grounds for as little as two weeks, and even then with little enthusiasm. Sometimes it takes to the air to sing.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-landscape_thumbnail\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2616\" height=\"1744\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/07\/Lapland-bunting-Calcarius-lapponicus-907343d.jpg\" alt=\"Lapland bunting sitting on a rock\" class=\"wp-image-149945\" title=\"Lapland bunting (Calcarius lapponicus)\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Lapland bunting forages on the ground for seeds\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h2 id=\"h-lapland-bunting-habitat-and-distribution\">Lapland bunting habitat and distribution<\/h2><p>Breeding not quite so far north as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/snow-bunting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">snow bunting<\/a>, the Lapland bunting lives in greener, more vegetated, less rocky areas, namely coastal dunes, stubble, saltmarsh and grassland.<\/p><p>In common with snow buntings, they are very much tundra birds in the winter, breeding a long way to the north across the whole of Eurasia and, especially, North America.<\/p><div class=\"is-layout-flex wp-container-36 is-layout-flex wp-container-34 wp-block-columns highlight-box\"><div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-column\"><div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-group highlight-box\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\"><h4 id=\"h-britain-s-most-melodic-songbirds\">Britain’s most melodic songbirds<\/h4><p>In Britain we are blessed with an incredible variety of beautiful birdsong from late winter into early summer. From the nightingale to the blackbird, here is your guide to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.countryfile.com\/wildlife\/birds\/britains-best-songbirds-how-to-identify-each-species\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">best British songbirds<\/a>, including how to identify each species.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"is-layout-flow wp-block-column\"><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"2580\" height=\"1720\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/02\/Sedge-warbler-in-spring-78b488a.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-139580\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sedge warbler singing\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/><h2 id=\"h-lapland-bunting-populations\">Lapland bunting populations<\/h2><p>The Lapland bunting is a very rare winter visitor in the UK, with up to 310 individuals (Amber List of Conservation Concern). Occasionally the odd pair breeds in the UK.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"5184\" height=\"3456\" src=\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/47\/2023\/07\/Lapland-bunting-Calcarius-lapponicus-a42f0df.jpg\" alt=\"Lapland bunting sitting on a branch\" class=\"wp-image-149944\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Lapland bunting is a very rare winter visitor in the UK\/Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lapland bunting is a very rare winter visitor in the UK, with the occasional pair breeding. 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