Talk:Calcariidae

A fact from Calcariidae appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 8 October 2013 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that genetic studies revealed birds of the family Calcariidae, namely longspurs and snow buntings (pictured), are more closely related to tanagers, New World warblers and cardinals than they are to buntings?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2013/October. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Calcariidae.

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Southern range

The southern extremity of the Snow Buntings range includes as far as Africa (where it is rare) and China (see Avibase map), which are latitudes comparable to the Mexican latitude of the Chestnut-collared Longspur (according to the article). The article only mentions the extreme range of the C-c Longspur, which is probably a feature of the articles focus on American birds, which has been only partially fixed. Snowman (talk) 13:17, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I just tried searching for "snow bunting" + africa on google and google books. Very little came up. I am about to go to sleep and have some other tasks to attend to. If no-one else finds anything I will look tomorrow. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 13:26, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I apologise in advance, if the web-pages I have linked are red-herrings on the African range of the Snow Bunting. Try search with "Algeria" "Snow Bunting". See List of birds of Algeria and IUCN, where it is listed as a vagrant in Algeria and native in China. Anyway, I think that the Snow Bunting's range latitude in China is comparable with the C-c Longspur's range latitude in Mexico and the both should be mentioned for a holistic world view of the range of family. Snowman (talk) 13:40, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I agree they should be mentioned - I typed "snow bunting" + vagrant and got it for Strait of Gilbraltar. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 14:36, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What about not mentioning the southern range in China? Does an emphasis on the USA range mean that the article in not neutral? Snowman (talk) 19:21, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I have now mentioned the range in China. [IUCN range map] does not appear to have the Snow Bunting's range in China nearly as far south as Mexico. I disagree with the characterization of the article's range description as "emphasis on the USA"; I consider instead that the article is incomplete. I will keep working to be as inclusive as possible; I do not think neutrality is the issue here. Corvus coronoides _talk 22:33, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I like the IUCN map, but I am becoming confused, because various maps show different ranges. The Snow Bunting is listed in List of birds of China. The IUCN map for the C-c Longspur shows the southern extremity of this birds range is only about half way down Mexico, about as far as the tropic of cancer to 20 degrees latitude. If the Snow Bunting occupies the southern part of China, then it will be living about as far south that the C-c Longspur. I have looked at the latitudes on my model globe. Anyway, that article on this topic has been fixed, becausee the article does not make any "furthest" claims about any one species' ranges now. Snowman (talk) 11:12, 6 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

What is meant by "primary diet"? Perhaps, it could be interpreted as the diet for young animals, see www.primarydiets.com. Snowman (talk) 19:19, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]
That's interesting. I'll modify it to be less potentially ambiguous.Corvus coronoides _talk 22:33, 5 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"The diet of species in this family consists of insects, seeds, and grasses"; this sweeping generalisation is incorrect, because the Snow Bunting also eats crustations on the seashore. Snowman (talk) 11:16, 6 August 2013 (UTC)[reply]