The dark-eyed junco

This week’s featured bird is a winter resident in Oklahoma but often arrives here in the fall.

The dark-eyed junco arrived in the Ada area around the third week of October. At least, that’s when I first saw one this season.

They are among the most abundant woodland birds of North America but are probably more familiar to people as common visitors to backyard bird feeders.

Dark-eyed juncos are often rather plain-looking birds, but their behavior is somewhat complex. They form large flocks in winter, and typically have a hierarchy or pecking order, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Earlier arrivals tend to rank higher in the group than later arrivals, and males are dominant over females, while all adults are dominant over younger birds.

Among the first birds you’ll see at feeding stations on winter mornings will be northern cardinals. However, dark-eyed juncos will not be far behind.

I’m not sure there is a bird that signifies winter more in the area than the dark-eyed junco.

While they have many songs and calls, my favorite is a high, fast twittering “tew-tew-tew “ used while feeding on the ground. Often, on snowy days, it’s the only sound you’ll hear while birds are feeding.

Appearances

Juncos are medium-sized for sparrows, which is what they are.

There are many different subspecies and forms of dark-eyed juncos, and, if that’s not confusing enough, some of those vary in color.

And while there are so many subspecies, remember that these forms sometimes breed with other forms, creating hybrids. But of the subspecies that visit Oklahoma, all have pale beaks.

There are four forms — slate-colored, white-winged, Oregon and gray-headed — that were once considered separate species until 1973.

The four forms, along with another one known as the pink-sided form, are located in Oklahoma.However, the slate-colored is far more common than the others. Probably 90-95% of the juncos you see in the Ada area are the slate-colored form.

Food

As hinted at previously, juncos visit feeders readily and often during the winter. They are attracted to a variety of seeds, but I’ve found that they prefer millet first, both white and red varieties. They will also eat black-oil sunflower seeds but seem to prefer hulled sunflower seeds if available. Juncos will also eat Nyjer, safflower seed, cracked corn, peanut hearts, oats and milo.

I typically buy a “finch blend” bird seed, which juncos love. It includes white and red millet, sunflower chips and Nyjer. I place the seed on platform feeders and scatter it on the ground. They will visit elevated feeders but more often feed on the ground.

During the breeding season, juncos will eat some insects as well as seeds.

Range

Dark-eyed juncos winter over most of the continental United States, and also in parts of northern Mexico and southern Canada.

During the breathing season, the permanent range covers much of the American West portions of the Northeast, and the breeding range extends up to most of Canada and the Yukon Territories, and much of Alaska as well.

(Editor’s Note: Randy Mitchell is a freelance writer and photographer. He has been an avid birdwatcher, nature enthusiast and photographer for more than 40 years. Reach him at [email protected].)

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