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Wesley's Backyard Birds
Dark-eyed 'Oregon' Junco
These Dark-eyed Juncos were the first to start visiting my feeders at this house, along with the House Finches. There's an empty lot next to us that has tumble-weed type bushes along the fence which the Juncos started to take roost in. At first there were a handful but now there's a good 30 or so of them and throughout the day they come to the feeders every 15 minutes or so. The House Finches who roost in the trees next to the barn behind our house come every 15 minutes or so as well and there's around 30 of those. With the Winter leaving though the Juncos have been thinning out as they start migrating back up up north.
The Juncos almost solely feed on the ground so I make sure there's seed down there for them. They're really tolerant to the snow and still feed on the ground even in deeper snow. They'll shuffle their feet back and forth finding the seeds under the snow. I will however go out after a snow and clear the areas where I've put seed for them. They'll watch me do that and will immediately come in to eat as I'm walking away.
The Dark-eyed Junco is the best-known species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. The Juncos in our area are the Oregon form which have the distinct black hood, and the "slate-colored" Juncos that don't have the black hood but are more gray. |
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Dak-Eyed Junco - Oregon Form |
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Dak-Eyed Junco - Slate-Colored |
Dak-Eyed Junco - Slate-Colored Female? |
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