Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/20/2009

Question
QUESTION: Here is a bird that we seen in central ILL. It seems to hang with what we think is a sparrow. I will attach a few pictures to see if you can give me some info. just very curious about what it is.

ANSWER: The Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), sometimes called "snowflake", is usually found in the Arctic.

The breeding habitat is on tundra, treeless moors, and bare mountains. It is migratory, wintering a short distance further south in open habitats in northern temperate areas, typically on either sandy coasts, steppes, prairies, or low mountains, more rarely on farmland stubble. In winter, it forms mobile flocks

It is fairly large and long-winged for a bunting, 15-18 cm long and with a wingspan of 32–38 cm, and weighing 26–50 g. In flight, it is easily identified by its large white wing patches. The breeding male is unmistakable, with all white plumage and a black back; the breeding female is grey-black where the male is solid black. In winter plumage, both sexes are mottled pale ginger, blackish and white above, and pale ginger and white below, with the males having more white than the females. The bill is yellow with a black tip, all black in summer males.
It builds its bulky nest in rock crevices. The eggs are blue-green, spotted brown, and hatch in 12–13 days, and the young are already ready to fly after a further 12–14 days.

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QUESTION: Would these be breeding in Central ILLinois?

ANSWER: Highly unlikely; they only breed in the far north of North America.

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QUESTION: That is where I took the picture last night & it seems this bird has a nest there. We are geographically in the center of the state of ILLINOIS.

Answer
Well, if this bird is actually nesting, then I only have two explanations. Either I misidentified the bird or this is an extremely unusual circumstance which I can't explain. I'm fairly certain of the identification as a Snow Bunting but if you can get another photo or two, I can confirm it for sure. Your photo is good, but another angle might show me something else.
Birds occasionally lose their way and are found in areas that they are not typically found in. A Snow Bunting was even found in San Diego a few years ago - way out of its range. But for a pair to be both lost and breeding would be highly unusual.
By the way, I live in California but I grew up in Chicago and went to the U of I in Champaign-Urbana, so I know your area.