ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: from the length of its hind claws
: any of several long-clawed fringillid birds chiefly of the genus Calcarius that inhabit the arctic regions and the Great Plains of No. America, are usually strikingly marked with black, white, and ocher in the male, and travel in immense flocks during migration — see alaska longspur , chestnut-collared longspur , lapland longspur , mc cown's longspur, smith's longspur