“In winter over much of the continent, flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos can be found around woodland edges and suburban yards, feeding on the ground, making ticking calls as they fly up into the bushes. East of the plains, the Dark-eyed Juncos are all gray and white. …” — Audubon
The dark-eyed junco, also known as slate-colored or northern junco, Junco hyemalis, is widely referred to as the “snowbird.” Their scientific species name, hyemalis, is Latin for “of the winter.” Since I observed snow buntings, Plectrophenax nivalis, during winters in northern Vermont, they were the only “snowbirds” in my lexicon until encountering the moniker applied to juncos.
As referred to, above, juncos are familiar ground feeders, picking up seeds around plants in the landscape. When juncos come to my wire-mesh suet feeder, they are most comfortable standing on top of it to feed. I have observed individuals having difficulty adjusting to grasping with their feet to hold on while eating—but they succeed!
The wire-mesh box that holds cakes of suet and seed is a natural for birds that climb trees in search of food in bark crevices. See the female downy woodpecker in the image, above. The large hairy and red-bellied woodpeckers are frequent visitors.
Upon very close examination, find a speck of red on the back of the head of the male downy woodpecker shown here. To the right, a bright-eyed tufted titmouse.
The snow and wind during last weekend’s great Blizzard of 2026 sculpted banks of snow along the ground and deeply snow-thatched, gracefully edged rooflines.
