Measurements and moult of the Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus in West Greenland

Measurements were taken on almost 600 Lapland Buntings from two areas of West Greenland in 1984. Male birds were significantly different from females in all measurements except tarsus length; juvenile mean wing and tail lengths were slightly longer than those of adults. Active primary moult in 51 adults was evident from 16 July to 14 August, but estimates for the whole population gave a moult period of 47 days for females, slightly longer for males. Duration of primary moult for average individual birds was around 30 days for females and 38 days for males. Females began primary moult later and moulted over a shorter time period than males. Secondary moult in both sexes lagged behind the primaries; tertials and tail moult also began after the primaries but finished before them. Head and body moult began after the primaries, and finished later, whereas the upper and underwing coverts began later and finished earlier. Post‐juvenile moult (amongst 297 birds) involved the body feathers and lesser and median wing coverts. The possibility of a Greenlandic origin for some autumn migrant Lapland Buntings in north‐west Europe is discussed.