<ornithology> Any one of several species of fringilline birds of the genus Calcarius (or Plectrophanes), and allied genera. The Lapland longspur (C. Lapponicus), the chestnut-coloured longspur (C. Ornatus), and other species, inhabit the United States.
Origin: So called from the length of the hind claw.
(01 Mar 1998)
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