DARK-EYED JUNCO, LYNDE SHORES CONSERVATION AREA, WHITBY, ON

    We can ID this Emberizine Sparrow or New World Sparrow as a male Dark-eyed Junco.  There are five subspecies of Dark- eyed Juncos in North America; this junco is the slate-colored subspecies.  This subspecies is the only one found in most of eastern North America, including Ontario.  The bird can be identified as a male Dark-eyed Junco of the slate-colored subspecies as follows:

• Gray overall with little or no contrast between head, back, flanks and chest.
• White belly.
• Short, stout pale pink bill.
• White outer tail feathers.  You can see this white on the tail in the first photo.

   The Dark-eyed Junco is a new species to our Life List, which now stands at 280.