# Snow bunting (*Plectrophenax nivalis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-bunting  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), also called Snowflake, is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, belonging to the order Passeriformes and the family Calcariidae. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 42.2 g and a wingspan of 35 cm. The snow bunting is a migratory, terrestrial granivore of grassland habitat, with a geographic range of 6,820,000 km². It lays one clutch of 5.2 eggs per year, incubates them for 12 days, reaches sexual maturity at 1 year and is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 35.3 g – 42.2 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 35 cm |
| Lifespan | 8.8 years |
| Diet | Granivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 9.6 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | grassland |
| Egg incubation | 12 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 5.23 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Calcariidae
- genus: Plectrophenax
- species: *Plectrophenax nivalis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Calcarius nivalis*, *Emberiza nivalis*, *Passerina nivalis*, *Plectophenax nivalis*, *Plectophenax nivalis nivalis*, *Plectrophenax nivalis pallidior*, *Plectrophenax nivalis subnivalis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the snow bunting?

The snow bunting is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, in the order Passeriformes and the family Calcariidae.

### How much does a snow bunting weigh?

An adult Snow bunting weighs 42.2 g, and it has a wingspan of 35 cm.

### What does the snow bunting eat?

The snow bunting is a granivore, placing it at the herbivore trophic level.

### Is the snow bunting endangered?

No. The snow bunting is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a snow bunting live?

The snow bunting has a lifespan of 8.8 years, with values up to 9.6 years reported.

### How many eggs does a snow bunting lay?

The snow bunting lays 5.2 eggs per clutch and has one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 12 days.

### Is the snow bunting migratory?

Yes, the snow bunting is migratory. It is a terrestrial bird of grassland habitat.

### Who named the snow bunting?

The snow bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/snow-bunting