White-winged Junco
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| White-winged Junco | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Junco hyemalis aikeni |
The White-winged Junco (Junco hyemalis aikeni) is a subspecies of the Dark-eyed Junco. It is similar to the eastern birds of that variable species, which are called Slate-colored Juncos or the hyemalis group. Formerly classified as a distinct species, it is nowadays at least provisionally included in the Dark-eyed Junco by most authors.
It is a common endemic breeder in the Black Hills area of South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Montana, and winters south to northeastern New Mexico. [1]
J. h. aikeni resembles the Slate-colored Junco but is much larger, lighter gray (the head plumage contrasting with the dark lores), has much more white in the tail, and has a larger, longer bill that often has a bluish cast. Females are paler and washed brownish. Most fresh (fall/winter) individuals have the white wingbars that give this taxon its common nmae, but this feature is not always present, especially in spring and summer on females as the white tips to the wing coverts easily wear off.[citation needed] About 1 Slate-colored Junco in 200 has wing bars as bold as those of a fresh White-winged Junco. Therefore, using wingbars alone to identify a bird as a White-winged Junco outside the breeding range is ill-advised; identifications must be based on all the relevant characteristics. [2].
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology (CLO) (2002): Bird Guide - Dark-eyed Junco. Retrieved 2007-JAN-20.
- Sibley, David Allen (2000): The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0-679-45122-6
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