Darting Phantoms - Dark-Eyed Junco

Perched Dark-eyed Junco

A couple of weeks ago, it was Tufted Timouse that dominated the yard - this week it's Dark-eyed Junco. They are very timid - taking flight quickly if I do not open the sliding glass door ever so carefully. When they do, there is a flash of white that shows from behind with a flight pattern that bobs up and down as they make their exit. The juncos stay close to the ground, picking at the seeds that fall from the feeder, but they seem to continually dart in and out when they come
to feed. They are bullied slightly by the White Throated Sparrow who have also made a recent appearance, and stay clear of the mourning dove as they walk about looking for seeds on the ground as well.

White markings on tail

Unlike the White-breasted Nuthatch, they don't fly up off the ground to perch and find a place to crack open the seeds. I have been trying to catch a picture of the juncos in flight, and today caught just a part of one heading toward the cedars across the backyard fence - apprapo for the photo quest. Even though the juncos have stayed around the yard all winter, their number at a time - at least six - have increased, as well as their singing (1). We are familiar with these little critters because their close cousin the Oregon Junco was a frequent visitor to the bird feeder in the front yard patio area of our home in Corvallis. As a side note, when perched, the little head with a small face and what seems a disproportionately sized body (see the photograph in the upper left corner) gives the bird somewhat the appearance of what could be a character in the Jeff MacNelly political satire cartoon strip Shoe.
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(1) The birdjam Website is easier to access bird songs on than the Cornell Ornithology Laboratory site. birdjam has a limited number of song entries.