Baird's Junco
Junco bairdi
Distinctive sparrow found only in Sierra de La Laguna mountains near the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. Pale gray with rufous back usually extending onto wings, white outer tail feathers and a staring yellow eye. Rufous continues onto sides; bill half black, half yellow. Forages on the ground, but perches higher when singing. Song has a similar ringing tone to other juncos, but usually with several distinct sections of chips and trills.
Identification
Baird's junco is approximately average-sized for a New World sparrow, with males being (on average) larger than females and most individuals being approximately 15 centimetres (5.9 in) in length with a mass of approximately 18 grams (0.63 oz). Baird's junco have the shortest wings (69 millimetres (2.7 in)) and the shortest tails (62 millimetres (2.4 in)) of any member of the genus Junco, something that is likely correlated to their sedentary, non-migratory nature.<p>Baird's juncos are sexually monomorphic, and adult Baird's juncos have gray heads with black lores, buffy brown backs, wings, and flanks, and paler gray or white throats blending into a pale whitish chest, belly, and vent. Some individuals are browner below, with color from the flanks covering more of the undersides. Like other members of the genus junco, the outermost tail feathers are white, giving a distinct white flash when birds fly. Baird's juncos have bright yellow eyes, and dull pinkish to pinkish-horn or yellow-orange bills with a maxilla usually darker than the mandible, giving a bicolored appearance to the bill.<p>The vocalizations of Baird's junco are quite distinct, and are and are significantly different from other populations of "yellow-eyed" juncos in North America. Baird's junco songs are fairly complex, especially for the genus junco, and consist of longer songs with multiple unique phrases and few repeats of phrases within each song.
Taxonomy
While originally described as a distinct species, it was once considered a subspecies of the yellow-eyed junco (Junco phaeonotus) before being recognized as a distinct species again after further research. Within the genus junco, Baird's junco is the outgroup to all other juncos with the exception of the volcano junco, having diverged from other members of the genus more than 350,000 years ago despite retaining a phenotype similar to other North American juncos.<p>The type specimens of Baird's junco were collected on February 2, 1883 by Lyman Belding at "Laguna, Lower California" [=Baja California], and it was named for Spencer Fullerton Baird, an American ornithologist and naturalist, by Robert Ridgway, the curator of birds at the United States National Museum at that time.
- Scientific name
- Junco bairdi
- Authority
- Ridgway, 1883
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Passerellidae
- Genus
- Junco
Range and habitat
Baird's junco is restricted to the higher elevations of the Sierra de la Laguna, Baja California Sur, Mexico, where it nests in pine-oak forests. This species is largely restricted to the higher elevations above 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) where appropriate habitat occurs, but non-breeding individuals do wander lower down, with previous sources considering the bird common above 3,000 feet (910 m) in elevation and more contemporary sources noting records as low as 700 metres (2,300 ft) in elevation. These low elevational records have been attributed to non-breeding individuals, and no significant pattern of elevational migration has been noted.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Spinifex Pigeon
Geophaps plumifera
A small attractive pigeon with a distinctive long crest. Primarily rusty-brown plumage with black barring on the wings and back. Adults have a white "chinstrap" with red surrounding the eye. Found in arid, rocky regions of Australia, typically where spinifex grasses are present, and a permanent water source exists nearby.
Chestnut-capped Piha
Lipaugus weberi
Rare and endangered Colombian endemic restricted to a very small area in the northern part of the central Andes. Fairly large and almost uniformly gray with a faint, yellow eyering. Male’s chestnut cap is rarely visible in the field. It is not known to occur together with the more widespread Dusky Piha, which lacks the eyering and cap. Inhabits middle to upper levels of cloud forest and often first detected by voice. It gives airy squeaks, squeals, and clucks, which may be given alone or in an agitated series.
Chilean Flamingo
Phoenicopterus chilensis
Widespread and often numerous; found at shallow lakes and lagoons from the high Andes to Patagonian steppe and even in coastal waters. Adult is distinctive: pale pink with a salmon-pink “bustle” and grayish legs with red feet and “knees.” Immature often obviously smaller than adult, but has longer bill “hook” than the smaller and shorter-legged James’s Flamingo. Chilean Flamingo lacks the clean-cut black triangle on closed wings seen on Andean Flamingo. Far-carrying calls can suggest honking of geese.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.