snow bunting

American  

noun

1. a bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, of the northern parts of the Northern Hemisphere having white plumage.

---

snow bunting British  

noun

1. a bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, of northern and arctic regions, having a white plumage with dark markings on the wings, back, and tail

---

Etymology

Origin of snow bunting

First recorded in 1765–75

Example Sentences

The result teemed with surprises: A snow bunting perched on the rig and sang.

From New York Times • Mar. 16, 2023

Scotland is home to Arctic specialists - birds like dotterel, snow bunting and ptarmigan - which are found high on Scotland's mountains.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2022

Among those difficult to find were the horned lark, snow bunting and Lapland longspur.

From Washington Times • Jan. 2, 2021

Which meant that instead of putting socks away in drawers, I had spent the hour tacking up vintage maps of Greenwich Village, photos of Washington Square Park in the snow, bunting made from mini-British flags.

From Time • Mar. 26, 2015

Several woodpeckers, kingfishers, jays, bluebird, kingbird, chickadee, snow bunting; several sparrows, including, fortunately, the white-crowned, white-throat and song, but now, unfortunately, the English as well.

From Animal Sanctuaries in Labrador An Address Presented by Lt.-Colonel William Wood, F.R.S.C. before the Second Annual Meeting of the Commission of Conservation at Quebec, January, 1911 by Wood, William Charles Henry