Dark Eyed Junco
Dark Eyed Junco
Took this pic back at the end of May in my backyard. Vancouver Island, BC
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I learned recently that this is a specific variety, the Oregon Junco. So it’s a PNW variety and unique to the region with its signature dark head.
there's also the cismontanus subspecies in BC. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Dark-eyed_Junco/photo-gallery/66115761. and its map
and the pink sided subspecies, but it doesn't look that similar, just has the hood. photo map
the Oregon Junco can be found all over the US and Canada though. https://ebird.org/map/orejun
Ah. Good info. ebird to the rescue as usual. :)
I must have missed that the cismontanus also had the signature dark hood when I was looking into it before. I've always known Junco to look like that and when I started trying to identify them I found that most places list "dark eyed junco" as a little gray bird and found out that apparently the one I've known my whole life in the PNW was a specific regionally named variant.
Either way, they're adorable and friendly little guys that hang around all year. :)
Haha yep, I’m in Colorado and when I kept hearing the same bird but seeing different versions I was always confused. I saw the pink sided up in the mountains this weekend and the same thing happened.
Merlin app is a godsend for those situations. :) 🐦
Nice! Thanks for the info. This one had a nest in one of our hanging baskets. It was hidden well so I didn't get any good pics of the brood, unfortunately.
They’re pretty chill birds. They will come out to food if you leave it out. They like foraging on the ground naturally so even if it’s just seeds sprinkled out. They’re also known as “winter birds” because they’ll just stay around even in winter. I go out in the snow and sprinkle seeds all over the top of the snow cover and they’ll hop around all over it. :)
Forgot to mention it in my first post because I was stuck geeking about birds haha. Nice pictures. I like the one where it’s facing the camera particularly.