I love that Juncos come in flavors. Hmmmm, that sorta sounds like a Popsicle, but you know what I mean. Here in the east, we have only one type of Dark-eyed Junco, the Slate-colored one. But in the west, there are several colorful variations: Oregon, Pink-sided, White-winged, Gray-headed and Red-backed.
This one is a Gray-headed Junco. See the reddish back and the soft gray head and chest. The Red-backed Junco is very similar except that the bill is bi-colored. Trust me, I checked out every Junco that was there, probably more than once, trying to make one of these into a Red-backed. But nothing doin’.
Another fun fact, you know that Juncos are actually Sparrows, right?
What kind of Juncos do you have?
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Juncos, for their plain colors, are very beautiful. So soft.
Since I live in the east, you know what kind of juncos I see. But I did have the fun of seeing this same variety in NM this summer. I was also surprised at the variety of chickadees they have there!
Isn’t it fun trying to fit your bird into a neat little description? Ok, fun isn’t the right word, but I sure know how that goes.
Very nice pic. Too bad it has to dig through the snow to get it’s seed.
I have Oregon Juncos. I love them. They are so sweet! Check out their cuteness: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizalee/2649901722/
Omigosh! My last post included this very bird! I thought it was one of the rosy finches at Sandia Crest, and here it’s a gray-headed junco! No wonder I couldn’t ID the bird. I should have known since one of my photos shows the white edges around its tail. Boy! Am I embarrassed! Thanks, Bev, for posting this. And Merry Christmas!
hi beverly-
i’m going to figure out what kind of juncos i have tomorrow morning (Christmas). we only get them in the winter, and i know that some are darker than others. no, i did not know they were sparrows! thanks for the info.
What juncos don’t we get here? We get slate-colored, oregon, pink-sided (haven’t seen), gray-headed (haven’t seen), maybe a very rare and limited white-winged (never seen). We don’t get red-backed, but not many states do.
Hi there. I love the Juncos and even though the Cardinal has been my favorite bird since I was a child (fav color red of course), the Juncos are fast out pacing that. Just like fine china with delicate painting. I love them.
I have Oregon, “Cassiar’s”, 1 Gray-headed, many Pink-sided and a few Slate-colored. A guest feeder of a White-winged comes in occasionally.