Dark-eyed Junco

Junco hyemalisOrder: PASSERIFORMES Family: Sparrows (Emberizidae)

Codes: Common Name: DEJU Scientific Name: JUNHYE ITIS Taxonomic No.: 179410

Breeding Location:

Forest edge, Mountains

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Common to fairly common

Egg Color:

White to blue with brown and gray marks

Number of Eggs:

3 - 6

Incubation Days:

11 - 13

Egg Incubator:

Female

Nest Material:

Grass. weeds, leaves with lining of fine grass, hair, and feathers.

Migration:

Northern birds migrate

General

Dark-eyed Junco: Medium-sized sparrow with considerable geographic color variation, although all exhibit a pink bill, dark eyes, white belly, and dark-centered tail with white outer feathers. Gray-headed form has gray head, rump, breast, and sides, and rust-brown back. Slate-colored form is slate-gray overall with darker head. Oregon form has black hood, chestnut-brown back and buff-brown flanks. White-winged form is blue-gray overall and shows two white wing bars. Pink-sided form is blue-gray with darker wings and pink-gray flanks. Female of each form resembles male but is usually paler. Juveniles of all forms are heavily streaked brown with darker heads, white bellies, and white outer tail feathers.

Range and Habitat

Dark-eyed Junco: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland, and south to the mountains in Mexico and Georgia. Spends winters south to the Gulf coast and northern Mexico; vagrant in Iceland, British Isles, continental Europe, and east Siberia. Preferred habitats include openings and edges of coniferous and mixed woods. In the winter, frequents fields, roadsides, parks, and suburban gardens.

Breeding and Nesting

Dark-eyed Junco: Three to six white to blue eggs marked with brown and gray, are laid in a deep, compact nest made of rootlets, shreds of bark, twigs, and mosses, lined with grass and hair, and usually built on or near the ground, protected by a rock ledge, mud bank, tufts of weeds, or a fallen log. Occasionally builds nest in a shrub or low tree less than 20 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

Foraging and Feeding

Dark-eyed Junco: Diet includes seeds, berries, insects, and fruits. Forages by gleaning from vegetation and scratching on the ground; may also hawk flying insects. In spring and fall joins mixed-species foraging flocks.

Readily Eats

Cracked Corn, Peanuts, Nut Meats

Vocalization

Dark-eyed Junco: Song is a ringing metallic trill on the same pitch. Members of a flock, which may spread out widely, keep in contact by constantly calling "tsick" or "tchet."

Similar Species

Dark-eyed Junco: Yellow-eyed Junco has yellow eyes, black lores, rufous back, and paler gray head and nape. Black-chinned Sparrow has streaked back, brown wings, and lacks white tail edges.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Dark-eyed Junco

Dark-eyed Junco: Medium sparrow with considerable geographic color variation, although all exhibit a pink bill, dark eyes, white belly, dark-centered tail with white outer feathers. Short flight with white outer tail feathers flashing, alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "dit", "tsick", "tchet"

● Foraging & Feeding: Dark-eyed Junco: Diet includes seeds, berries, insects, and fruits. Forages by gleaning from vegetation and scratching on the ground; may also hawk flying insects. In spring and fall joins mixed-species foraging flocks.

● Breeding & nesting: Dark-eyed Junco: Three to six white to blue eggs marked with brown and gray, are laid in a deep, compact nest made of rootlets, shreds of bark, twigs, and mosses, lined with grass and hair, and usually built on or near the ground, protected by a rock ledge, mud bank, tufts of weeds, or a fallen log. Occasionally builds nest in a shrub or low tree less than 20 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 11 to 13 days and is carried out by the female.

● Similar species: Dark-eyed Junco: Yellow-eyed Junco has yellow eyes, black lores, rufous back, and paler gray head and nape. Black-chinned Sparrow has streaked back, brown wings, and lacks white tail edges.

Flight Pattern

Short flights with white outer tail feathers flashing conspicuously., Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings drawn to sides.

● Range & Habitat: Dark-eyed Junco: Breeds from Alaska east across Canada to Newfoundland, and south to the mountains in Mexico and Georgia. Spends winters south to the Gulf coast and northern Mexico; vagrant in Iceland, British Isles, continental Europe, and east Siberia. Preferred habitats include openings and edges of coniferous and mixed woods. In the winter, frequents fields, roadsides, parks, and suburban gardens.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon to fairly common

^MigrationNorthern birds migrate

^Weight0.7 Ounces

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Outer tail feathers

The tail feathers farthest from the center.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America

Dark-eyed Junco

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Readily Eats

Vocalization

Similar Species

Dark-eyed Junco

Flight Pattern