Species BirdsMcKay's Bunting

McKay's Bunting

Plectrophenax hyperboreus

RareBird
Illustration of McKay's Bunting (Plectrophenax hyperboreus)

McKay's Bunting is one of the rarest North American breeding birds, nesting only on the remote islands of St. Matthew and Hall Islands in the Bering Sea. It is almost entirely white — purer white than the closely related Snow Bunting — with only small black wing tips. In winter it appears in small numbers on the coast of western Alaska, sometimes mixing with Snow Buntings.

Habitat
Remote Bering Sea islands when breeding; western Alaskan coast in winter
Diet
Seeds and insects from tundra
How common
Rare

Best time to see a McKay's Bunting

The best time to see a McKay's Bunting is July–August, when about 64% of U.S. sightings happen, based on 53 research-grade iNaturalist observations.

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