This is my entry photo to #SMaP
I spotted this dark-eyed junco perched on a tree branch and making a lot of noise. It turned out to be a juvenile, which could explain it's strange behaviour. It simply perched on that branch and did not move. I thought it would be the perfect subject for the Show me a Photo (#SMaP) challenge.
The dark-eyed junco is colloquially known as the "snowbird" because of its winter feeding behavior that constitutes of showing up to hooman houses when the snow arrives and begging for food. Just kidding, the humans put out the feeders willingly, and a junco's gotta do what a junco's gotta do.
There are distinct population scattered throughout North America, and I believe this particular specimen belongs to the "Oregon" variety that breeds along the Pacific west coast. It has a loud rapid buzzy twitter, as you can hear in the video.
They're ground bowl nesters who live on a diet of insects, seeds, and berries. Retiring to secluded and private resorts in coniferous and mixed forests during breeding season, they seek out more urban digs (like parks and fields) during winter. They will lay 1-2 broods of 3-5 eggs from May to August (Bird, 2016).
Resource
Bird, David. 2016. Pocket Birds of Canada.
Images by @litguru
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