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 Cairngorms National Park, based on 113 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
Closest Relatives at Cairngorms National Park
Chaffinch
Fringilla coelebs
European Robin
Erithacus rubecula
Coal Tit
Periparus ater
Blue Tit
Cyanistes caeruleus
Great Tit
Parus major
Eurasian Siskin
Spinus spinus
Eurasian Wren
Troglodytes troglodytes
Eurasian Blackbird
Turdus merula
Willow Warbler
Phylloscopus trochilus
Carrion Crow
Corvus corone
Goldcrest
Regulus regulus
Meadow Pipit
Anthus pratensis
📅 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 Cairngorms National Park?
About 4% of wildlife watchers report a Snow Bunting sighting in Cairngorms National Park, based on 113 days of visitor records from GBIF citizen-science data.
When is the best time to see Snow Bunting in Cairngorms National Park?
February has the highest sighting rate for Snow Bunting in Cairngorms National Park in our monthly data.