n. [ So called from the length of the hind claw. ] (Zool.) Any one of several species of fringilline birds of the genus Calcarius (or Plectrophanes), and allied genera. The Lapland longspur (Calcarius Lapponicus), the chestnut-colored longspur (Calcarius ornatus), and other species, inhabit the United States. [ 1913 Webster ]