The Howland Picture Pages: Dark-eyed Junco

Page by Royce
Last update: $Date: 2003/07/25 03:34:18 $ (UTC)

The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) does not look very sparrow-like; certainly it can't be lumped in with the LBJ's (Little Brown Jobbies) based on its coloring. However, the junco is part of the family of new world sparrows, common across Canada and the U.S. Juncos are often seen foraging on the ground below bushes and trees, and will come to feeders in small flocks during the winter.

Juncos come in a variety of color variations (mostly darker earth tones on the upper parts), and have been organized in six or seven populations within a single species. Most of the populations share a pinkish, conical bill, and black, beady eyes. They also have white flashes on the outer tail feathers that are visible when they flit from one place to another, making a chipping sound as they fly.

Resources where you can find out more:

• Dark-eyed Junco profile at weaselhead.org
• Dark-eyed Junco profile at CLO including sound sample
• Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

You're not from around here...	This is a gray-headed morph of the Dark-eyed Junco, different than the slate-colored variety we normally see in our area. We saw a small flock of gray-headed Juncos in the Bandelier National Monument, November 6, 2002, while on vacation in New Mexico. (See our page on Bandelier.) Bandelier, created as a U.S. national monument in 1916, was one of the great locations we saw while in New Mexico. In addition to some good bird watching and wonderful terrain which we try to experience anywhere we go, the main attraction in this 23,000 acre designated wilderness area is the extensive system of pueblo dwellings built into the cliffs. Photo info: 320 x 361 true color Exposure time: 10/1329 F-stop: 4.2 ISO speed: 400 Focal length: 61.5000 Exposure bias: 0.0000 Metering mode: Center Weighted Exposure program: Normal Compression: 6 Camera make: NIKON Camera model: E5700
Doesn't food always taste better outdoors?	This is a female slate-colored form of the Dark-eyed Junco, seen on October 12, 2002 in the area of Ardrossan, Alberta. Juncos seemed to be in short supply this winter. We saw none at our feeder in Calgary and very few anywhere else in our travels in Alberta. Photo info: 320 x 215 true color Exposure time: 10/2373 F-stop: 5.3 ISO speed: 400 Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter) Exposure bias: 0.0000 Metering mode: Center Weighted Exposure program: Normal Compression: 6 Camera make: NIKON Camera model: E5700
Only if somebody else cooks and cleans up...	This is a male slate-colored individual, seen along with the one in the previous image. Photo info: 320 x 219 true color Exposure time: 10/2539 F-stop: 5.3 ISO speed: 400 Focal length: 71.2000 (plus 1.5X teleconverter) Exposure bias: 0.0000 Metering mode: Center Weighted Exposure program: Normal Compression: 6 Camera make: NIKON Camera model: E5700

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