Bird of the Week lX - Monday, October 31st, 2011

This week's "Bird of the Week" is the Dark-eyed junco. I selected the Junco for this week's BOTW because I saw my first one of the season on Sunday!  The Junco is a medium sized sparrow that is gray with a black hood and a white belly. It has white, outer tail feathers that are quite visible when it flies. It's eyes are dark, it's legs are pink, and it's bill is "whiteish". The male and females look similar with the females being a little more paler and browner.

Male junco.

The first photograph is of a male and the second photograph is of a female.

Female Junco

Junco's are the "snowbirds" of our area, appearing around here only in the winter. They are very common at back yard bird feeders and will sometimes appear in flocks of 25 birds or more. The Junco feeds primarily on the ground, scratching the ground looking for insects and seeds.

Photos taken from All About Birds.