longspur
noun
long·spur
ˈlȯŋ-ˌspər 
: any of several long-clawed finches (especially genus Calcarius) of the arctic regions and the Great Plains of North America
Examples of longspur in a Sentence
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Also reported were a dickcissel at Elm Hill Sanctuary in North Brookfield, a Lapland longspur at the Uxbridge Community Gardens, and six white-winged crossbills in Templeton.
—
BostonGlobe.com, 30 Oct. 2021
In the rarity category, a Western grebe in Mashpee, a common gull in Swampscott and a continuing Smith’s longspur in Hadley were the most notable.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Jan. 2023
At Race Point in Provincetown, sightings included a late piping plover, 4 red-necked grebes, 2 harlequin ducks, 72 razorbills, 220 black-legged kittiwakes, 113 Cory’s shearwaters, 6 great shearwater, 3 Manx shearwaters, 700 Northern gannets, 3 American pipits, and a Lapland longspur.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 Nov. 2022
Two sandhill cranes in Lancaster, a glaucous gull at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg, a Lapland longspur at Fitchburg Municipal Airport and 40 evening grosbeaks in Royalston.
—BostonGlobe.com, 28 Jan. 2023
Indications are that the wintering Smith’s longspur in Hadley may have departed.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Feb. 2023
Last year, ornithologists called for renaming birds like the McCown’s longspur, a Great Plains species named for a Confederate general who was also involved with forcible relocations of Native Americans.
—Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 July 2021
In 2019, the AOS rejected an earlier proposal to rename the McCown’s longspur, in large part because there was no policy in place for changing a name based on offensiveness.
—Nathalie Alonso, Outside Online, 12 Feb. 2021
Four sandhill cranes were counted in New Braintree, three solitary sandpipers were seen in Northborough, and a Lapland longspur was found at the Uxbridge community gardens.
—BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2021
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BostonGlobe.com, 30 Oct. 2021
In the rarity category, a Western grebe in Mashpee, a common gull in Swampscott and a continuing Smith’s longspur in Hadley were the most notable.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Jan. 2023
At Race Point in Provincetown, sightings included a late piping plover, 4 red-necked grebes, 2 harlequin ducks, 72 razorbills, 220 black-legged kittiwakes, 113 Cory’s shearwaters, 6 great shearwater, 3 Manx shearwaters, 700 Northern gannets, 3 American pipits, and a Lapland longspur.
—BostonGlobe.com, 9 Nov. 2022
Two sandhill cranes in Lancaster, a glaucous gull at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg, a Lapland longspur at Fitchburg Municipal Airport and 40 evening grosbeaks in Royalston.
—BostonGlobe.com, 28 Jan. 2023
Indications are that the wintering Smith’s longspur in Hadley may have departed.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Feb. 2023
Last year, ornithologists called for renaming birds like the McCown’s longspur, a Great Plains species named for a Confederate general who was also involved with forcible relocations of Native Americans.
—Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 July 2021
In 2019, the AOS rejected an earlier proposal to rename the McCown’s longspur, in large part because there was no policy in place for changing a name based on offensiveness.
—Nathalie Alonso, Outside Online, 12 Feb. 2021
Four sandhill cranes were counted in New Braintree, three solitary sandpipers were seen in Northborough, and a Lapland longspur was found at the Uxbridge community gardens.
—BostonGlobe.com, 23 Oct. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Longspur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longspur. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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