A few birds from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
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Dark-eyed Junco:Dark-eyed Junco I never saw this little gray and white sparrow in the treeless parts of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, so that could explain why I didn't find a Yupik name for it. But upriver where there are tall trees on both the Yukon and Kuskokwim Rivers you might see it, that is, if you look hard enough, for this bird is so nondescript you may not notice it. Even in winter, you might see a junco or two around your feeder, if you have one. The scientific name of the Dark-eyed junco is Junco hyemalis, meaning "winter juncus reed bird," which I think says something of its ability to stick around during the winter. I know from personal experience that there are always a few of these juncos that frequent feeders here in Fairbanks all winter long. In fact, we recently had one in our own back yard for a few cold snowy weeks in October. We saw it even in the darkness of the early morning and evening. Unlike chickadees and redpolls, they don't have the same efficient strategies of surviving the cold winter temperatures of the Alaskan Interior and must eat almost continuously. Which made us wonder if they ate all night long? Most juncos are migratory birds, however, and in early spring return to Alaska for two reasons, to feed and breed. They are, in fact, one of our earliest sparrows to arrive back in Alaska in Spring, often before the snow disappears. And when they do return, they arrive in flocks on their old nesting grounds, probably the same ones their ancestors used for countless generations. On arrival, the males immediately proclaim their territories by singing from the tops of the tallest trees. You'll recognize the male's territorial song by its jingling trill, which sort of reminds me of the call notes of the first cell phones. During courtship both male and female hop around on the ground with wings drooped and tail fanned wide, showing off their white outer tail feathers. As he perches on a low limb, the male performs similar behavior while singing softly to the female. After the female makes her choice, she selects a well hidden nest site on the ground and builds an open cup of grass, leaves and other plant material, lines it with fine grass, hair or feathers. Meanwhile mating takes place and lickety split 3-5 splotchy pale bluish-white eggs are laid and incubated solely by the mother bird for 11-13 days. Although both parents feed the nestlings, mom broods them. Meanwhile they are growing like gangbusters and in less than two weeks are out of the nest and into the air. An interesting tidbit about baby juncos is that their feet grow more quickly than those of tree nesters, thus allowing them to run from their nest if they are threatened before they can fly. Once the young have fledged, the mother bird does not usually remain with her young. That's dad's job as mom heads back to the nest to lay another smaller clutch of eggs to better ensure the survival of the species. Like he did when the young were still in the nest, the father bird makes sure his progeny fatten up on insects. As Autumn draws near, however, and there are fewer insects to eat, the juvenile juncos eat more and more seeds and even a few berries. By this stage they have learned most of the tricks of the trade and are fat enough to begin their migration south to warmer climes. That is, except for a few hardy individuals who hang around all winter at someone's feeder. Our Alaskan Dark-eyed junco has many cousins in other parts of North America, some of them actually quite colorful compared to our slate-colored variety. To best appreciate them, go to your Sibley's bird guide. My favorite of the six is the Oregon junco. With his rufous jacket and black hood, he almost looks like a Spotted towhee. Some of our slate-coloreds up here also have a black hood. I've had one nesting in my yard for three summers now. If the number of pet names a bird has is any indication of how endeared humans are to it, juncos must be well-loved. Here are just a few: Black chipping bird; black snowbird; blue snowbird; Carolina junco; Cassiar junco; common snowbird; eastern junco; gray snowbird; slate- colored snowbird; snowbird; and white-bill. What a bird!  |
