Junco phaeonotus
The Yellow-eyed Junco (Junco phaeonotus) is a strikingly beautiful and engaging New World sparrow, instantly recognizable by its piercing, bright yellow eyes set against a crisp, bicolored bill. This medium-sized junco, measuring about 15-16 cm (6 inches) in length with a wingspan of 25-28 cm (10-11 inches), exhibits a distinctive plumage featuring a slate-gray head and breast, contrasting with a warm rufous or reddish-brown back and bright white belly. Its dark tail flashes prominent white o...
Found primarily in high-elevation coniferous and pine-oak forests, often at the edges of clearings or near water sources. They thrive in montane woodlands, typically between 1,800 to 3,500 meters (6,000 to 11,500 feet) in elevation.
Their diet consists predominantly of seeds from various grasses, forbs, and trees, supplemented significantly by insects, especially during the breeding season. They forage primarily by scratching through leaf litter on the ground or gleaning from low vegetation.
Yellow-eyed Juncos are diurnal ground foragers, spending much of their day hopping and scratching through leaf litter for food, often in small, loose flocks outside the breeding season. During the breeding season, males establish and defend territories with their distinctive trilling songs, frequ...
The Yellow-eyed Junco's primary breeding and resident range spans the mountainous regions of the southwestern United States and throughout the highlands of Mexico and parts of Central America. In the U.S., it is found in the 'Sky Island' mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona and southwestern Ne...
Least Concern
- The Yellow-eyed Junco is the only junco species with truly yellow eyes, a distinctive feature that makes it unmistakable among its relatives. - It is sometimes called the 'Arizona Junco' due to its prominent presence in the Sky Island mountain ranges of southeastern Arizona. - Despite their typ...