Snow Bunting
Plectrophenax nivalis
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Cordats)
- ClassAves (Aus)
- OrderPasseriformes
- FamilyCalcariidae (Longspurs and Snow Buntings)
- GenusPlectrophenax (Snow and McKay's Buntings)
- SpeciesPlectrophenax nivalis (Snow Bunting)
The snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) is a passerine bird in the family Calcariidae. It is an Arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere. There are small isolated populations on a few high mountain tops south of the Arctic region, including the Cairngorms in central Scotland and the Saint Elias Mountains on the southern Alaska-Yukon border, as well as the Cape Breton Highlands. The snow bunting is the most northerly recorded passerine in the world. Wikipedia →
<5% of wildlife watchers report a Snow Bunting sighting in Banff National Park, based on 7 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Banff National Park
Lapland Longspur
Calcarius lapponicus
American Robin
Turdus migratorius
Common Raven
Corvus corax
Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Setophaga coronata
Mountain Chickadee
Poecile gambeli
Pine Siskin
Spinus pinus
Black-billed Magpie
Pica hudsonia
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Sitta canadensis
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Regulus calendula
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
White-crowned Sparrow
Zonotrichia leucophrys
📅 Monthly Probability
☀️ When They're Spotted
Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)
Global Distribution
Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.
where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there
Parks Where Found
Quick answers
What are the chances of seeing a Snow Bunting in Banff National Park?
About 0% of wildlife watchers report a Snow Bunting sighting in Banff National Park, based on 7 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Snow Bunting in Banff National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Snow Bunting in Banff National Park in our monthly data.