Quiz: Which of These 12 North American Birds Summer in the Arctic?

Many familiar species depend on the Arctic for breeding. Discover seven of them and test your bird smarts with this quiz.

Surprised by the results? Don't be.听The majority of the birds听that occur in听Canada and the Lower 48听live at least part of their lives in the Arctic. Most听of them听use听the Arctic's听tundra scrub, tundra pools, and boreal forest edge during听breeding season, where seasonally warm temperatures and day-long sunlight provide ideal听habitat for raising young. For more on each of the听Arctic-summering听birds featured in this听quiz, scroll down.

Learn more about the and the threats this vital bird habitat听faces.

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1. Long-tailed Duck

In the winter, large flocks of this duck dive for mollusks听and crustaceans in the Great Lakes听and along America's听coasts, stopping at听Oregon on the west coast and the Carolinas in the east. In the summer, Long-tailed Ducks hightail it to the Arctic, where they scrape out nests near tundra pools.

2. Snow Bunting

As the name may suggest, the Snow Bunting breeds in the high Arctic tundra, making nests in cavities between rocks. But in the wintertime, these birds travel as far south as Colorado, foraging in fields and听short-grass prairies, and along shorelines.

4. American Tree Sparrow

This little brown bird is a common winter sight at feeders across the northern United States, especially on the ground听foraging for any spilled seeds. In the summer, these sparrows fly north to the tundra, nesting close to听the ground in low bushes or grass听at or above the tree line, where scrubby brush habitat meets thickets of trees.

7. Glaucous Gull

This light-colored, large gull can be spotted on both coasts as far down as California and Virginia in the winter, but it chooses to breed in the high Arctic, nesting among sea grass on shoreline cliffs. When the gulls migrate for the winter, records show thatimmature gulls will move the furthest south.

8. Rough-legged Hawk

This raptor is a common sight, perching near听marsh or pastureland throughout southern Canada and most of the听United States,听save听the southeast. When it's time to breed, though,听the Rough-legged Hawk heads听to the Arctic tundra, where its听cliff-side nests are bathed听with hours of sunshine听and have听ample amounts of lemming nearby听for dinner.

9. Common Redpoll

Though听flocks of these buzzy finches can be found as far south as Kansas and Missouri in the winter, Common Redpolls spend their summers breeding in open woodland shrubs throughout the Arctic. These seedeaters visit backyard feeders in winter months,听but they are most commonly found gleaning tree branches and shaking out catkins and seedpods for a meal.

11. Red-throated Loon

The smallest of the loons, the Red-throated Loon can commonly be found听diving for fish along both coasts in winter, and in shallow bays and estuaries all the way south to Mexico and Florida. But during听summer, they disappear deep into the Arctic to breed at ponds and lakes on the tundra or within the edge of northern forest..

Other quiz photo captions and credits:听

3.听Barn Owls. Photo: Mitch Walters/探花精选 Photography Awards
5. Louisiana Waterthrush. Photo:听/Flickr CC (BY 2.0):听
6. Forster鈥檚 Tern. Photo: Jacqueline Deely/探花精选 Photography Awards
10. Lark Bunting. Photo:听/Flickr CC (BY-SA 2.0)
12. Black-billed Cuckoo. Photo: Shayna Hartley/探花精选 Photography Awards