Dark-eyed Juncos are attractive, curious, energetic birds that can be very entertaining to watch in your yard. Often described as a sparrow that doesn't look like a sparrow, the junco sports a slate gray plumage, forming a hood over the head and down onto the breast, with a white belly. These birds are sure to add interest to any backyard.
Identifying Juncos
The Dark-eyed Junco is a variable bird characterized by its white outer tail feathers. Sexes are similar, with the female plumage being paler. Juveniles of all varieties are streaky brown at first.
Several forms of Dark-eyed Juncos exist, each with distinct color patterns:
- Slate-colored Junco: Solid gray on head, back, and sides. Females and first-winter birds are slightly browner than adult males. This is the only form usually seen in the East.
- Oregon Junco: Male has a solid black or slaty hood, chestnut back, and rusty sides. The female is paler, with a gray hood. Widespread in the West, but rarely appears in the East.
- Pink-sided Junco: A bit larger than most juncos, with a pale blue-gray hood, pink sides, and a brown back. The female "Oregon" can be very similar. Nests in the north-central Rockies region and winters farther south.
- White-winged Junco: Like "Slate-colored" but larger and paler, with white wing-bars and more white in the tail. Nests in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.
- Gray-headed Junco: Reddish patch on the back contrasts with the gray hood. Sides and flanks are gray, not brown or tan. Nests mainly in the central Rockies and the mountains of the Great Basin.
- Red-backed Junco: Gray sides and reddish back, with a pale throat and mostly dark bill. Resident in the mountains of northern Arizona and New Mexico, and seldom moves far from nesting areas.
Junco Habitat and Behavior
Juncos inhabit brushy, scrubby forests, both coniferous and deciduous. They prefer to feed lower, closer to the ground, hopping about in search of food. These birds energetically forage through leaf litter for fallen seeds as well as insects and grubs. They are often seen in backyards, especially when snow is on the ground.
Understanding the Junco Diet
Juncos are ground-feeding, granivorous birds, meaning they primarily eat seeds and grain. Seeds and grain make up at least three-quarters of their diet, but insects constitute a significant portion, especially during the breeding season when hungry hatchlings need extra protein.
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Preferred Foods
- Small grass, flower, weed, and grain seeds
- Canary seed
- Finely cracked corn
- Black oil sunflower seeds
- Ragweed
- Smartweed
- Pigweed
- Lamb's-quarters
- Chickweed
- Purslane
- Vetch
- Sorrels
- Thistles
- Crabgrass
- Red or white proso millet
- Hulled sunflower seed
- Bark Butter® Bits (rendered beef suet, soy oil, roasted peanuts, corn, oats, and calcium carbonate)
How to Attract Juncos to Your Yard
Attracting these birds to your yard involves providing the right food, water, and shelter.
1. Plan Your Menu Accordingly
Offer a variety of seeds that juncos enjoy. Lyric Supreme Wild Bird Mix, with its nutritional mix of seeds, nuts, sunflower kernels, and cracked corn, is specially formulated to appeal to Juncos. At a feeding station, juncos will happily munch on millet, sunflower hearts, and cracked corn.
2. Install Suitable Feeders
Since juncos eat near the ground, a low platform feeder or open tray is an excellent choice. Sparrows prefer ground-level feeders or broad, open trays. Consider using covered platform feeders relatively close to the ground. Poles, deck railings, or fence posts can be ideal, but avoid putting them in bushy areas where predators may hide. Choose feeders designed to keep seed dry, and replace sodden seed to prevent mold and mildew growth. Cleaning up under hanging feeders can also attract juncos, as they will forage for dropped seeds.
Some recommended feeders include:
- EcoTough® Covered Ground Feeder: The roof protects the birds and food from the elements, and the perforated metal bottom keeps the seed dry and lifts out for easy cleaning.
- EcoTough® 9″ x 9″ Tray Bird Feeder: Allows birds to easily locate seed and attract a diverse group of birds by offering different types of bird seed, peanuts, suet snacks, or fruit.
- EcoTough® Classic Too Bird Feeder: Perch drains allow seeds to fall for ground-feeding birds, making it a very efficient, self-cleaning feeder.
3. Offer Favorite Native Plants
Juncos love to forage for the seeds of weeds and grasses left standing in your landscape or in fields, parks, and open woodlands. Consider leaving some weeds and grasses in your yard to provide a natural food source.
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4. Keep Water Handy
Juncos seem to prefer drinking and bathing water that’s conveniently close to the ground. A heated bird bath is a smart idea, especially during winter months. Choose one that’s low to the ground, and place it near dense shrubs, their preferred cover.
5. Provide Shelter
These small birds will readily use all types of shelter, with dense shrubs and bushes providing perfect natural shelter. Extra shelter is always welcome in winter, so consider adding branches that are pruned to a brush pile for extra protection. Leaving bushes and shrubs untrimmed until spring can also help juncos to nest nearby.
6. Nesting Considerations
Dark-eyed Juncos build their nests fairly low, in short trees or near the shelter of fallen trees and rock piles. Preferred nesting materials are moss, pine needles, animal fur, and small twigs. While they will not use a nest box, providing these materials can encourage juncos to nest in your yard.
Additional Tips for Attracting Juncos
- Be patient: It may take some time for juncos to discover your offerings.
- Observe their behavior: Pay attention to what they eat and where they prefer to feed.
- Keep feeders clean: Regularly clean feeders to prevent the spread of disease.
- Provide a safe environment: Protect birds from predators by providing adequate shelter and keeping cats indoors.
Junco Migration and Winter Habits
The Dark-eyed Junco is predominately migratory, except for parts of the West and Northeast. In winter over much of the continent, flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos can be found around woodland edges and suburban yards, feeding on the ground, making ticking calls as they fly up into the bushes. Males tend to winter slightly farther north than females.
Fascinating Junco Behavior
Juncos are quick learners and can adapt to new food sources. One observer noted how juncos learned to exploit a suet feeder by dislodging seeds and then having other juncos scoop up the dropped seeds below. This behavior demonstrates their intelligence and adaptability.
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