A World of Birds
Dark-eyed Junco
A World of Birds
Dark-eyed Junco
ABOUT THE SPECIES - Dark-eyed Junco
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Junco hyemalis - There are about 15 subspecies of Dark-eyed Junco arranged in 6 major forms; Slate-Colored Junco (J.h.hyemalis), Oregon Junco (J.h.oreganus), Pink-sided Junco (J.h.mearnsi), White-Winged Junco (J.h.aikeni), Gray-headed Junco (J.h.caniceps), and Red-backed Junco (J.h.dorsalis).
TAXONOMIC FAMILY: Passerellidae
IUCN Red List Category: LEAST CONCERN
This map by Borja Milá of Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid, one of Ellen Ketterson's collaborators, shows the various Dark-eyed and Yellow-eyed Junco color varieties across North America. Based on DNA evidence, Milá's work suggests that Dark-eyed Juncos evolved from Yellow-eyed Juncos that migrated north from Mexico into the United States and Canada in the past ~13,000 years after glaciers receded. It includes a Dark-eyed Junco variety not covered in this article: the recently described Guadalupe Junco (GUJU), which breeds only on the tiny Guadalupe Island off the coast of Baja California. (Key, counter-clockwise from top left: ORJU=Oregon; PSJU=Pink-sided; GUJU=Guadalupe; BAJU=Baird's; YEJU=Yellow-eyed; GTJU=Guatemalan Yellow-eyed; VOJU=Volcano; CHJU=Chiapas; RBJU=Red-backed; GHJU=Gray-headed; WWJU=White-winged; SCJU=Slate-colored)
JIM'S PERSONAL DATA - Dark-eyed Junco
(191 Observations as of 12/25/2024)
LIFER #31
FIRST LIFER OBSERVATION: 19 Feb 1985
Henderson Park | US-CA
PHOTO GALLERY - Dark-eyed Junco*
*This Photo Gallery has images for 4 of the 6 recognized forms, Oregon Junco, Slate-colored Junco, Pink-sided Junco, and Gray-headed Junco. I am missing the White-winged and Red-backed Junco.
OREGON JUNCO - J. h. oreganus
Male @ Golden Gate Park--Elk Glen Lake, San Francisco County, California, US
Female @ Cooperstown Rd, Stanislaus County, California
Male @ Pinecrest Lake, Tuolumne County, California, US
SLATE-COLORED JUNCO - J. h. hyemalis
@ Henderson Park., Merced County
@ Henderson Park., Merced County
@ Henderson Park., Merced County
PINK-SIDED JUNCO - J. h. mearnsi
@ Paradise--George Walker House, Cochise County, Arizona
@ Paradise--George Walker House, Cochise County, Arizona
@ Paradise--George Walker House, Cochise County, Arizona
GRAY-HEADED JUNCO - J. h. caniceps
@ Madera Canyon Santa Rita Lodge, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
@ Madera Canyon Santa Rita Lodge, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
@ Madera Canyon Santa Rita Lodge, Santa Cruz County, Arizona
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