Species Specifics: Dark-eyed Junco
Around mid-October I start hearing reports of junco sightings from customers. Dark-eyed juncos, often called snow birds because of their color pattern (gray skies above, white snow below) are one of the first winter visitors to arrive in our area from their breeding grounds in northern Canada. There are five forms of the dark-eyed junco species: the slate-colored junco in the east, the Oregon junco in the west, the pink-sided Oregon in the Northern Rockies, the gray-headed junco in the Southern Rockies and the white-winged junco in Wyoming and South Dakota.
Slate-colored juncos are about 6" long. The males are darker gary than the females. Both male and female juncos have pale bills and dark tails edged with white feathers that flash when they fly off. They usually eat on the ground and in the winter months can be found amongst the white-throated sparrows eating fallen seeds under your backyard feeders. To attract juncos, on days with snow cover, clear a space under your feeders and sprinkle the area with a mixture of white millet and cracked corn. Every winter, when the weather is especially bad, I’ve even observed juncos up on my deck picking up bits of seed tossed out of feeders by the cardinals, chickadees and titmice and on more than one occasion I’ve seen a junco eating Nyjer seed from a finch feeder! Snow birds will often roost together in dense evergreens for protection from cold and predators.
In the spring, male slate-colored juncos will leave first to return to their breeding grounds. The females arrive later to find the males singing from tall trees declaring their territory and trying to attract a mate. Nests are usually built on the ground by the female. She’ll conceal it from predators by building it under overhanging ferns or branches. The female will incubate 3-6 grayish or pale bluish speckled and blotched eggs for about 12 days. The babies are in the nest 9-13 days and after fledging are cared for by both parents for another 3 weeks.
When October rolls around again, juncos start to leave their breeding ranges and migrate in flocks to their wintering grounds in lower Canada and throughout the U.S. usually returning to the same area each year.