Dark-eyed Junco

Junco hyemalis

eBird describes the Dark-eyed Junco like this:  Unique sparrow with incredible variation between populations. Generally patterned with gray, white, and shades of tan. All have pinkish bills and white outer tail feathers. Juveniles are streaky. Breeds in a variety of forested habitats, especially with conifers. Found in any wooded habitat in the winter, often in flocks. Usually forages on the ground for seeds, but also fond of brushy thickets or weedy fields. Visits feeders. Subspecies include: Slate-colored (widespread), Oregon (West), Pink-sided (Rockies), Gray-headed (Rockies and southwest U.S. to Mexico), Red-backed (central Arizona and New Mexico), and White-winged (breeds in Black Hills, winters mainly Colorado).  All About Birds provides this additional descriptive information for the Dark-eyed Junco:  Dark-eyed Juncos are neat, even flashy little sparrows that flit about forest floors of the western mountains and Canada, then flood the rest of North America for winter. They’re easy to recognize by their crisp (though extremely variable) markings and the bright white tail feathers they habitually flash in flight. Dark-eyed Juncos are among the most abundant forest birds of North America. Look for them on woodland walks as well as in flocks at your feeders or on the ground beneath them.

I saw, and photographed my first Dark-eyed Junco on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 19, 2022 in the backcountry desert of Petrified Forest National Park.  While scanning the cliffs for petroglyphs I spotted a pair of Junco’s who were perched on a boulder.  Cute little birds!

A PAIR OF DARK-EYED JUNCOS NEAR BOX CANYON NORTH OF MARTHA'S BUTTE ON THE AFTERNOON OF WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2022.
ANOTHER SHOT OF THE DARK-EYED JUNCOS I WATCHED NORTH OF MARTHA'S BUTTE.


“Cool Facts” About Dark-eyed Juncos From All About Birds:

  • Juncos are the “snowbirds” of the middle latitudes. Over most of the eastern United States, they appear as winter sets in, and then retreat northward each spring. Other juncos are year-round residents, retreating into woodlands during the breeding season, or, like those of the Appalachian Mountains, moving to higher elevations during the warmer months.
  • The Dark-eyed Junco is one of the most common birds in North America and can be found across the continent, from Alaska to Mexico, from California to New York. A recent estimate set the junco’s total population at approximately 630 million individuals.
  • The oldest recorded Dark-eyed Junco was at least 11 years, 4 months old when it was recaptured and rereleased during banding operations in West Virginia in 2001. It had been banded in the same state in 1991.