Sunday, September 5, 2010

Dark-eyed "Oregon" Junco (#3)

A Dark-eyed "Oregon" Junco on the Dewey Pt Trail, Yosemite Nat. park, CA; 6-17-09.
One of the prettier of the Juncoes is the Oregon Junco, another variety of the Dark-eyed species. We saw lots of these while hiking in Yosemite National Park in the summer of 2009. Again at the time I photgraphed them, I didn't know they were a Junco until I looked it up after the trip. Their complete black head set off by their reddish brown body, while retaining the white belly of the Slate-colored variety, is a very striking combination. In summer, they are quite common along the West Coast of California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia and inland into the higher altitude Sierra Nevada and Cascades Mt Ranges. During winter they are widespread as far east as Nebraska and Kansas and south into Mexico.

Another Dark-eyed "Oregon" Junco, McGirk Meadows Trail, Yosemite Nat. Park, CA, 6-17-09.

1 comment:

~Val said...

I remember that McGirk Meadows trail. It was so mosquito-y, I'm surprised you could stand still long enough to take pictures! :-D