# Dark-eyed Junco

*Junco hyemalis*

Juncos practice a strict social hierarchy where 'alpha' birds dominate the best foraging spots at bird feeders.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Passerellidae › Junco
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** forest
- **Habitat:** Coniferous and mixed-deciduous forests during breeding; open woodlands, fields, and suburban gardens during winter.
- **Diet:** Primarily seeds from chickweed, buckwheat, and grasses; also consumes insects like beetles and caterpillars during summer.
- **Range:** Canada, United States, Northern Mexico
- **Size:** Length: 13-17 cm; Wingspan: 18-25 cm; Weight: 18-30 g
- **Lifespan:** 3 to 11 years
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Window strikes, predation by domestic cats, and loss of nesting habitat due to logging.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless and delightful to observe. Maintain a respectful distance of 5-10 feet to avoid startling. If found injured, contact a local wildlife rehabilitator; otherwise, enjoy their presence at bird feeders.

## About

The dark-eyed junco ( Junco hyemalis ) is a species of the juncos, a genus of small grayish American sparrows. This bird is common across much of temperate North America and in summer ranges far into the Arctic. It is a very variable species, much like the related fox sparrow ( Passerella iliaca ), and its systematics are still not completely untangled.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/b1d769d6-5621-4b8a-968e-74508967e2c2
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/10094
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junco hyemalis
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/462900958/medium.jpg (Becky Matsubara, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.