Dark-eyed Junco

While people have long considered the American Robin a harbinger of spring, there's some justification in considering the Dark-eyed Junco as a harbinger of winter (though perhaps identifying them as such would adversely affect their popularity). This was almost certainly one of the 1st juncos I saw last autumn. (The Cornell Lab of Ornithology implies that juncos are here all year round, though I've never actually seen one in the summer.)

This species is a little like the Red-tailed Hawk in that different subspecies across the continent have quite different plumage, probably making early ornithologists think they were different species. In our area, we generally have the "slate-colored junco", the subspecies that's got a whitish belly and is gray (males) or grayish-brown (females) above. Another thing they have in common with Red-tailed Hawks is that red-tails are among our most common raptors, and the Dark-eyed Junco is one of our most common birds overall.

These guys are New World sparrows, so they're related to a lot of the little brown birds you routinely see. But while a lot of sparrow species are similar enough to cause identification confusion, the Dark-eyed Junco is distinctive enough that they're easily distinguished from other sparrows. (If you're trying to identify the subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco, that could be harder, especially because the different subspecies can easily interbreed among each other.)

Though they're not bold, rarely letting me get close, they will live near humans. By leaving food outside I've enticed some to visit my patio in the winter.

They're cool birds to look at, though they don't always photograph well. A lot of times the eyes blend in with the feathers in my photos. This one turned out better than most.

October 11, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 168359166, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)