What's with this Dark-Eyed Junco? (1 Viewer)

[Natalie]

For at least the past few days (I just got back in town so I'm not sure how long it's actually been there), there's been an unusual looking Dark-Eyed Junco visiting my yard. It looks much like the regular Oregon form we have around here, only its head is light gray with a bit of a darker cap. The distinction between the gray head and the brown body is very sharp, so I'm pretty sure it's an adult male bird. It lives with a flock of regular Juncos, both male and females, but it doesn't eat at the feeders like they usually do (instead it just picks at seeds on the ground with the Towhees). Does this bird sound like a vagrant Junco of a different form?

I realize this picture is beyond crappy (it was taken through a window screen), but I'm hoping it will be enough for someone to identify it. I will try and get some better pictures of the bird later if it comes back this evening.

 

[birdpotter]

What about a female Oregon junco?
It's hard to tell with the photo, but it looks like it could fit.

 

[Natalie]

Are the females prone to high variability in appearance? Most of the female Juncos I've seen around here look much like this individual with a brownish head that blends into the body, but the one I saw today looked more like this one (which, admittedly, is labled as a female Junco).

 

[birdpotter]

From my experience Juncos vary a great deal, not just from region to region (obiviously), but within their own groups...I usually only see them when they migrate down for the winter, so they are in groups.

 

[jcwings]

Hi Natalie,

I believe you have a juvenile Dark-eyed Junco. Probably a fairly recently fledged bird. I've seen several already in June here along the central coast. They look quite a bit different than a female "Oregon" with a dull gray head and a fair amount of streaking on the face and breast until they molt into a first-basic plumage looking like those dull females in winter. They can look superficially like a Gray-headed Junco. This time of year "Oregon" is the only expected species in coastal CA. The rarer forms won't come back until winter.

Look at these images with juveniles presented:
http://www.geocities.com/tgrey41/Pages/DarkeyedJuncop.html

 

[catmadden]

Maybe not a junco

Looks like a Weaver Finch to me. They are known to hang with Juncos and they are basically ground feeders. Some folks call them House sparrows... I get mixed flocks in my yard...:cat:

 

[Tero]

Interesting link, that
http://www.geocities.com/tgrey41/Pages/DarkeyedJuncop.html
we never see the juveniles

 

[Natalie]

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'm going to say it's a subadult female Junco, as the back is still a bit mottled. The House Sparrow can be ruled out because this bird doesn't have any white on the head. I got some House Sparrows a few months ago at the feeders, but I chased them away so they wouldn't compete with the native birds.