Junco
Junco, a small, sparrowlike bird found from northern Canada to Central America. Adult juncos are about six inches (15 cm) long. Most species have pink bills, grayish or reddish-brown backs, and grayish-white underparts. Juncos may be identified in flight by their white outside tail feathers. They feed on insects, seeds, and wild fruit. Four to six bluish-green eggs are laid in nests made primarily of grass.
Various kinds of juncos that breed in northern North America and migrate south during the winter are also called snowbirds. They include the slate-colored junco, found primarily east of the Rockies; and the brown-backed Oregon junco and the white-winged junco, both found primarily west of the Rockies.
Juncos are of the family Emberizidae. The slate-colored junco is Junco hyematis hyemalis; the Oregon. J. h. oreganus; the white-winged, J. h. aikeni.
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