If you happen to camp in the Arctic, don’t be surprised if you find a snow bunting singing from the top of your tent “as they make use of the vantage point over the surrounding tundra,” said Senner, now a post-doctoral fellow in the Netherlands. “This species is the farthest north nesting passerine, or songbird.”

 

The male snow bunting arrives at its Arctic breeding grounds in early April, four to six weeks before the female. At that time, the bird must protect itself from temperatures that can be as low as minus 22 degrees.