Dark-eyed Juncos can be found in most of North America but exist in many different sub-specie groups. Over the past few days, I’ve spent some time photographing different types in my backyard. Here in Kamloops the most common is the Oregon type but we also get some Slate-coloured. In my short time here I would say Kamloops has 85% Oregon and 15% Slate-coloured. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about juveniles at this time of year. Below, I am going to try to show some differences but I would love to hear from people with more insight in this.
A dark adult male with dark black hood and warm brown flanksA slightly paler male Oregon with a slightly lighter hood. Lighter hood approaching gray. Flanks are also only a warm brownish colour with no.
An adult female Oregon, notice how the lighter hood blends well into the back without as much clear distinction as males.Adult male Slate-coloured. Boldly marked with completely black back and charcoal gray flanks. Are there two white spots trying to form a wing bar hinting at a tiny amount of the white-winged DNA? I don’t have enough experience with these to call that.Adult female Slate-coloured. Back has some brown feathers, hood not as dark and boldly marked as males, flanks are darker brown with some gray feathers mixed in.Which brings us to this one. Flanks are slate-coloured, back is almost a reddish brown, primary feathers do not have any hint of brown, hood contrasts a lot with back feather. It appears we have traits from both the Oregon and Slate-coloured groups. Is this an unusually different looking female Slate-coloured or an intergrade? I lean towards the latter. Another intergrade but more Oregon than Slate-coloured me thinks.
revealednature.com 