Snow Bird

Wikimedia Commons

They’re gone now – having only stayed around here for a handful of weeks as they wing their way north to their breeding grounds in the boreal forests of Canada and as far as the southern fringes of the arctic circle     

The dark-eyed Junco – Junco hyemalis – is a finch-sized bird that we observe scratching in the turf of the yard or underneath the feeders.  They a sweet-looking bird that also has a rigid social structure that calls for the dominant birds to boss the meeker birds.  Later this year as the days grow shorter and the leaves fall they’ll return for a short visit while returning to their wintering grounds further south.  

You can learn more about this song bird here.  And if you want to hear it’s call click here.