I had an extremely difficult time identifying this bird after I took its picture for the first time on the New Hampshire coast in December 2022. Having had no previous knowledge of a snow bunting, I immediately assumed it to be a type of sparrow because of its coloration (I had photographed it with its winter plumage). I got home and searched through all the sparrow species in New Hampshire, then all the sparrow species in North America. No dice.

Unable to find the species, I left it alone but promised to get back to it. It was a very distinct looking bird and the colors reminded me a lot of the porgs from Star Wars. Fast forward to a week later and I found myself watching a wildlife photographer on YouTube who happened to show a video of snow buntings (with their white and black plumage).

I did not immediately draw the connection then, but a day later while I was driving, it suddenly clicked. The build and shape of the snow buntings in the video had looked very familiar. I went straight to my computer once I got home and looked up snow buntings. Bingo.