Junco hyemalis

Description

There are five different subspecies of the dark-eyed junco. The most common subspecies (and the one found in VT and NH) is the "slate-colored" dark-eyed junco. It has a charcoal gray body with a white belly and undertail area. Like all dark-eyed juncos, it has white outer tail feathers. The female bird has slight brown shading on her head and back.

Voice

Dark-eyed juncos have two calls,"stip" and "jzeet," and their song is a musical trill.

Breeding

April to September

Habitat

These birds like open evergreen or mixed (evergreen and deciduous) woods. They hop around the open forest floor looking for food and then fly into the trees when they get nervous.

Diet

Dark-eyed juncos eat insects, fruit, and seeds.

Range

You can find dark-eyed juncos summering in Canada and wintering in most of the United States. They live in the extreme northeastern region of the country (including VT and NH) and along the Appalachian Mountains year-round.

Other Useful Information

The other four subspecies of dark-eyed junco are the "Oregon," "pink-sided," "gray-headed," and "white-winged" dark-eyed juncos.

Similar Species

The young dark-eyed junco is brown and striped and looks a little like the vesper sparrow. However, the sparrow has a white chin and throat and stripes on its sides, unlike the junco.