The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis) is a favorite of mine from years of feeder watching. Staring at dozens of them at a time through the glass and thousands upon thousands over the years certainly taught me that they are such a variable species in terms of appearance. Not only do the browns, grays, and tans take on different hues, the birds sometimes appear to have distinct features that are not “right” for the species with streaking on the belly or flanks, eye-rings, and even wing bars!
On a dark and dreary autumn day it can be a lot of fun to find a flock of birds to examine in your yard. I recently shot these Juncos through the windows on such an afternoon out of a group of 30-40 in my yard to show some of their unique traits.
Those are some buffy flanks and they even appear to have some streaking
Look at that, a little bit of a white wing bar!
A bit of dramatic drop off from gray to brown with the more hooded look
The most “field guide-like” bird I saw
This is a more typical mix of brown and gray
This bird was just cute with a Chipping Sparrow in the background
I once spotted a “Dark-eyed Junco” that clearly had some White-throated Sparrow blood in it with the white throat evident and some interesting wings and head markings. We suspected it had one as a grandparent. It turned out this hybridization, while rare, is known to occur. Sometimes I wonder if even some like the first bird pictured have a bit in them. Take a look at every single bird you see of any species because while the Peterson Field Guides tell you so very much they cannot show you all of the unique offerings nature can provide us with.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
