So long as I’ve got the feeder filled, this is one of the birds that shows up during the winter. Actually there are a few of them that come to get the black oil sunflower seeds. The Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis). This is one that showed up on Christmas Day to get its portrait captured in pixels.

They love seeds and are not particular about the type. They’ll eat black oil sunflower seeds (I put out the hulled seeds), safflower seeds, Nyger seeds, cracked corn, peanut hearts, millet, oats, or milo. They’ll eat from a platform feeder, or enjoy seeds that are scattered on the ground. When available, they’ll eat insects too.

These Juncos measure in from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail at about 6 inches in length.

I’ll enjoy these little birds while they’re here during the winter, and as the weather warms, I’ll look forward to their return.

_______________________________________________________________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!