Song Birds - Sounds Wild
Snow Buntings

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Snow buntings

Mid-March in Interior Alaska, and winter still has a firm grip on the land. But in Fairbanks, the arrival of snow buntings is an early sign of spring. Buntings are closely related to sparrows, and look like a large, chunky sparrow.

(Excellent quote 1 about first bird to arrive, passing thru on way to North Slope. 13 sec.)

That's Susan Sharbaugh, the senior scientist at the Alaska Bird Observatory in Fairbanks.

She said the buntings nest and breed on the North Slope above the Arctic Circle. Fairbanks is a temporary stop as they pass through the Interior on their migration north - but they're a welcome sight.