The Dark-eyed Junco is the gray, white-bellied sparrow that hops on the ground under feeders in winter and flashes white outer tail feathers when it flies. Over most of the eastern US juncos arrive as winter sets in and head north each spring, which is why they are called "snowbirds" (Cornell). Project FeederWatch calls it typically the most common feeder bird in North America.
Quick facts
| Fact | Dark-eyed Junco |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Junco hyemalis, family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows (Cornell) |
| Length | 5.5–6.3 in (Cornell); about 6 in (Audubon) |
| Weight | 0.6–1.1 oz, 18–30 g (Cornell); 0.6–1.1 oz, 17–31 g (Audubon) |
| Wingspan | 7.1–9.8 in (Cornell); 7–10 in (Audubon) |
| Population | About 630 million birds (Cornell overview); a global breeding population of 220 million (Partners in Flight, via Cornell; Audubon also lists 220 million) |
| Trend | Down about 0.7% a year from 1966 to 2019, 31% in all (Breeding Bird Survey, via Cornell); more than 40% in recent decades (Partners in Flight data, via American Bird Conservancy) |
| Status | Low Concern (Cornell); Least Concern (IUCN, via Audubon) |
| Oldest known | At least 11 years 4 months: banded in West Virginia in 1991, recaptured there in 2001 (Cornell) |
How to identify a Dark-eyed Junco
Cornell describes a medium-sized sparrow with a rounded head, a short, stout bill and a fairly long tail, slightly larger than a Chipping Sparrow.
- Every form: dark gray or brown above, a pale pink bill, and white outer tail feathers that flash open, especially in flight (Cornell). The belly is white.
- Males and females: Audubon says the sexes look alike, with females and first-winter birds slightly browner than adult males. Cornell notes that female and young Slate-colored birds vary and can be much browner than males.
- Juveniles: streaky brown at first (Audubon). Cornell's tip: look for the white outer tail feathers and the round-headed, small-billed shape.
- Behavior: hops around the bases of trees and shrubs and on lawns for fallen seed, giving high chip notes (Cornell); scratches in leaf litter or snow (Audubon).
Females seem to prefer males with more white in their tails (Cornell).
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Photos: Cephas / CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Slate-colored, Oregon and the other forms
Cornell counts about 15 described races, six of them easy to recognize in the field; five were treated as separate species until the 1980s. The American Bird Conservancy dates the merger to the 1970s, when the American Ornithologists' Union combined them, counts about 16 subspecies, and notes that the Guadalupe Junco was split off again as its own species in 2016.
| Form | Where (Cornell; Audubon) | Look for |
|---|---|---|
| Slate-colored | Eastern US and most of Canada; the only form usually seen in the East | Smooth gray above, white belly; males gray on head, throat and breast (Cornell) |
| Oregon | Much of the western US | Male: dark hood, brown back, buffy flanks (Cornell); black or slate hood, chestnut back, rusty sides (Audubon). Females have a grayer hood and less contrast (Cornell) |
| Pink-sided | Rocky Mountains; nests in the north-central Rockies, winters farther south | Slate-gray (Cornell) or pale blue-gray (Audubon) head, brown back, pinkish sides |
| White-winged | Rockies and western Great Plains (Cornell); nests in the Black Hills of South Dakota (Audubon) | Slightly paler gray than Slate-colored, faint white wingbars, dark face (Cornell); larger (Audubon) |
| Gray-headed | Interior western North America; central Rockies and Great Basin mountains | Gray head and body, dark face, reddish-brown back, all-pale bill (Cornell) |
| Red-backed | Southwestern US; mountains of northern Arizona and New Mexico | Gray head, dark face, bright reddish-brown back, upper bill darker than the lower (Cornell); pale throat (Audubon) |
In winter, several forms may mix in one flock in parts of the West; east of the Plains, juncos are mostly gray and white (Audubon).
- Slate-colored: gray hood, back and sides; white belly.
- Oregon: dark hood, brown back, buffy to rusty sides.
- Pink-sided: slate-gray to blue-gray head, brown back, pinkish sides.
- White-winged: paler gray, faint white wingbars, dark face.
- Gray-headed: gray with a reddish-brown back, dark face, all-pale bill.
- Red-backed: gray head, dark face, pale throat, bright reddish-brown back, darker upper bill.
Look-alikes
Cornell lists two similar species:
| Species | How it differs |
|---|---|
| Spotted Towhee | A larger sparrow, 6.7–8.3 in, with white spots on the wings and back and warm rufous flanks (Cornell) |
| Black Phoebe | A flycatcher with a straight, thin bill; perches upright near water, pumps its tail and flies out after insects (Cornell) |
Song and calls
- Song: an even, musical trill of 7–23 notes lasting up to 2 seconds, audible from several hundred feet; it resembles Chipping Sparrow and Pine Warbler songs (Cornell). Audubon hears a ringing, metallic trill on one pitch.
- Quiet song: both sexes give a soft mix of whistles, trills and warbles, a little like an American Goldfinch, that carries only about 40 ft (Cornell).
- Calls: a high, short chip, fast in flight and slower while foraging; a sharp kew from a dominant bird; and a twitter of 6–19 notes when birds squabble or flush (Cornell). Audubon writes the contact calls as tsick or tchet.
When juncos come to the yard
Juncos breed in coniferous or mixed forests across Canada, the western US and the Appalachians, from sea level to over 11,000 ft (Cornell). Some populations stay year-round; Appalachian birds simply move higher in summer (Cornell). Audubon adds residents in southwestern mountains and along the southern Pacific Coast, and notes that males tend to winter slightly farther north than females. Missouri's Department of Conservation describes them as late-fall and winter visitors that migrate north in spring to nest. In winter, look in open woodlands, fields, parks, roadsides and backyards (Cornell).
Food and feeders
| Topic | What the sources say |
|---|---|
| Diet | Seeds are about 75% of the year-round diet, such as chickweed, buckwheat, lamb's quarters and sorrel; insects are added in the breeding season (Cornell). Insects make up nearly half of the adult summer diet, and young are fed mostly insects (Audubon) |
| Best feeder food | Millet over sunflower seed (Cornell); Missouri lists millet, sunflower seeds and cracked corn (MDC) |
| Where they feed | Usually on the ground beneath the feeder or tray (Audubon), so scatter seed or use a low platform feeder |
| Flocks | Fairly large winter flocks with a pecking order in which earlier arrivals usually outrank later ones (Cornell); birds lunge and flick their tails open to settle who is boss (MDC) |
More on seed choices: what to feed backyard birds.
Nesting
The female chooses the site and builds the nest (Cornell). Nests are rarely reused (Cornell).
| Stage | Cornell Lab | Audubon |
|---|---|---|
| Nest site | A hollow on sloping ground, a rock face or tangled roots; near people, in or under buildings; rarely as high as 45 ft | Almost always on the ground, hidden under grass, logs, rocks or roots, or in a dirt bank; rarely more than 10 ft up |
| Building | By the female, 3–7 days | Mostly by the female |
| Clutch | 3–6 eggs | 3–5, rarely 6 |
| Eggs | White, gray, or pale bluish or greenish white, often speckled | Whitish to bluish white or pale gray, marked brown and gray |
| Incubation | 12–13 days | About 11–13 days, by the female alone |
| Nestling period | 10–13 days | Young leave 9–13 days after hatching |
| Broods | 1–3 | Usually 1–2, sometimes 3 |
Windows
The American Bird Conservancy ranks the Dark-eyed Junco fourth on its list of seven bird species most likely to collide with windows, an order it describes as rough and varying by year and place.
For your Bird-a-Day streak
In much of the country the junco is a dependable winter bird under feeders, and its trill counts by ear (challenge guide). Slate-colored, Oregon and the other forms are one species (Cornell), so a mixed flock is still one bird for the day. Plan winter days with the species planner.
Dark-eyed Junco checklist
- Gray or brown above, white belly, pale pink bill (Cornell)
- White outer tail feathers flashing as it flies off (Cornell)
- Hood and back color tells the form: gray Slate-colored, dark-hooded Oregon (Cornell)
- Musical one-pitch trill; high chips from the ground (Cornell, Audubon)
- Feeds on the ground: scatter millet below the feeder (Cornell, Audubon)
Sources
- Dark-eyed Junco Overview — All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Dark-eyed Junco Identification — All About Birds
- Dark-eyed Junco Life History — All About Birds
- Dark-eyed Junco Sounds — All About Birds
- Spotted Towhee Identification — All About Birds
- Black Phoebe Identification — All About Birds
- Dark-eyed Junco — Audubon Guide to North American Birds
- Top 25 Feeder Birds — Project FeederWatch
- Dark-eyed Junco — American Bird Conservancy
- These Seven Bird Species are Most Likely to Collide with Windows (2022) — American Bird Conservancy
- Bird's-Eye View (Missouri Conservationist, December 2020) — Missouri Department of Conservation