On this first cold evening of the season, I was surrounded by the tinkling song of juncos as I walked home in the fading twilight of dusk. Down from the great Northwoods, these small, attractive songbirds are a fixture of the Midwest winter, thrilled to spend the cold, dark months in our relatively balmy climate.
Feasting on weed seeds, they scavenge our brushy fields and woodlots, scattering into shrubs and thickets if danger is sensed; as they do, their white outer tail feathers unveil their identity. Dark-eyed juncos are hardy survivors, christened "snow birds" for their seeming indifference to the challenges of winter weather.
Those who place feeders in the yard can observe these birds at close range; both slate-colored and Oregon races visit the Heartland. Unlike many of our residential songbirds, they shun the feeder perches, preferring to search for seed that has fallen to the ground. We'll enjoy their company until early April, when the weather gets too warm for their taste; it is then they'll escape to their homeland, the vast coniferous forests of Canada.
